A Clinical Study to Determine the Effects of a Novel Probiotic Microbial Composite™ on Improving Digestive Health and Key Growth Parameters in Undernourished Young Children

The Probiotic Microbial Composite™ is a multifaceted technology that encompasses three key areas, namely, prebiotics, probiotics and post-biotics. The first component, prebiotics, involve non-digestible food ingredients, typically oligosaccharides which act by beneficially affecting the host by stimulating growth, activity, or in fact both of specific intestinal bacteria.

The probiotic component refers to the augmentation or addition of bacteria to enhance and support the various beneficial bacteria that are inherent to the gastrointestinal tract. The bio-fermented Microbiotic Composite™ is a consortium of bacteria which can play a significant physiological role as a probiotic. This theory, termed the microbial consortium theory suggests that rather than a cumulative effect by the bacteria, there is in fact combinatorial affect by the use of several species.

The final component post-biotics, in general, mimic the beneficial health promoting effects of probiotics whilst avoiding the risk of taking live micro-organisms within the gastrointestinal tract, especially in populations such as infants and the elderly in whom the intestinal barriers, as well as, innate immune defenses can be impaired. The term typically encompasses a vast plethora of byproducts, know as metabolites, produced and secreted by the bacteria in response to their environment.