RCS - OptiBiotix Health - Research study

OptiBiotix HealthAnnouncement

11/01/2021 07:00

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RNS Number : 1347L  OptiBiotix Health PLC  11 January 2021

OptiBiotix Health plc

("OptiBiotix" or the "Company")

 

Joint research agreement

Study to show how probiotic and prebiotics may improve sleep, stress, and
anxiety

 

OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM:
OPTI), a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, high
cholesterol, diabetes and skincare, announces that its has reached an
agreement with Fondazione Edmund Mach - Centro Ricerca e Innovazione ("FEM"),
based in Trento, Italy, and the University of Southampton, to jointly fund and
carry out a research project examining the role of its microbiome products
(LP(LDL)®, SlimBiome®/WellBiome®)  to improve sleep, stress, and anxiety.

 

FEM is an academic research institute operating in the agri-food and
environmental sectors. It is located in the Province of Trento in the Italian
Dolomites and is the first "One Health" research centre in Italy. Within the
Department of Food Quality and Nutrition at FEM, the Nutrition and
Nutrigenomics Unit ("NNU") has internationally recognised expertise in
probiotics, prebiotics, polyphenols and functional foods. The NNU mission is
to measure how microbiomes along the food chain can be harnessed to improve
food nutritional quality, food sustainability and improve human health. NNU
has a special interest in fermented foods (especially fermented dairy
products), functional ingredients, whole plant foods, their bioactive
fractions (fibers, prebiotics and polyphenols) and probiotics.

 

This research project will be performed in the School of Human Development and
Health ("HDH") in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton.
HDH is internationally recognised for its multidisciplinary research in the
area of nutrition and metabolism seeking to reduce the burden of
non-communicable disease in both developed and developing countries. Research
includes the application of systems approaches to understand the far-reaching
effects of microbiome modulators on the biomolecular system of the host and
their implications for health and disease.

 

The agreement funds a PhD studentship to explore the potential of prebiotics
(e.g SlimBiome®/ WellBiome®)  and probiotics (e.g LP(LDL)®) for their
ability to manage sleep, stress and anxiety.  The agreement includes a
double blind, placebo controlled, human study carried out during a period of
stress induced sleep disruption.

 

The research follows on from a number of publications(1-5,7) indicating a
relationship between the gastrointestinal microbiota, neurobiochemistry, and
emotional behaviour. It builds upon findings showing that prebiotics improved
anxiety and depression in participants consuming ≥ 5 g/day, and probiotic
consumption improved psychological or biological measures of depression,
anxiety, or stress in individuals predisposed to a mood disorder(6). A study
by Costabile et al. in 2020 showed ingestion of 7.5 g per day of SlimBiome®
resulted in a statistically significant improvement in mood after 4 weeks (p =
0.0026).

 

(1)Swann J.R., Spitzer, S., Diaz Heijtz R. (2020) "Developmental signatures of
microbiota-derived metabolites in the mouse brain". Metabolites. 10(5), 172.

(2)Caspani G. & Swann J.R. (2019) "Small talk: microbial metabolites
involved in the signalling from microbiota to brain" Current Opinion in
Pharmacology. 48: 99-106.

(3)Caspani G., Kennedy S., Foster J.A., Swann J.R. (2019) "Gut microbial
metabolites in depression: understanding the biochemical mechanisms".
Microbial Cell. 6(10): 454-481.

(4)Swann J.R., Garcia-Perez I., Braniste V., Wilson I.D., Sidaway J.E.,
Nicholson J.K., Pettersson S., Holmes E. (2017) "Application of (1)H NMR
spectroscopy to the metabolic phenotyping of rodent brain extracts: a
metabonomic study of gut microbial influence on host brain metabolism". J.
Pharm and Biomed Anal. 143: 141-146.

(5)Farshim P., Walton G., Chakrabarti B., Givens I., Saddy D., Kitchen I.,
Bailey A., Swann J.R. (2016) "Maternal weaning modulates emotional behavior
and regulates the gut-brain axis". Nat Sci Rep. 6: 21958.

(6)Holscher, H. & Tallor A. (2020) "A review of dietary and microbial
connections to depression, anxiety, and stress". Nutr Neurosci. 23(3):
237-250.

(7) Patterson E, Ryan PM, Wiley N, Carafa I, Sherwin E, Moloney G, Franciosi
E, Mandal R, Wishart DS, Tuohy K, Ross RP, Cryan JF, Dinan TG, Stanton
C. Gamma-aminobutyric acid-producing lactobacilli positively affect
metabolism and depressive-like behaviour in a mouse model of metabolic
syndrome.  Scientific Reports, 2019 Nov 8;9(1):16323. doi:
10.1038/s41598-019-51781-x.

 

Stephen OHara, CEO of OptiBiotix Health plc commented: "OptiBiotix has
developed products based on a scientific understanding of their mechanisms of
action and human studies which demonstrate safety and efficacy. These studies
examine a range of parameters beyond the main study endpoint and have
indicated a potential for opportunities beyond cardiovascular health for
LP(LDL)®, weight management for SlimBiome, and gut health for WellBiome®.
This agreement allows Optibiotix to explore the benefits of its existing
products to help improve stress, anxiety and sleep disorders with world
leading scientists and academic institutions. Sleep aids and stress management
products are the fastest growing category within healthcare (Goldstein Market
Intelligence, 2020). This is another step in extending the range of
applications for OptiBiotix's scientifically and clinically proven products
into large growing markets where there is an unmet clinical need."

 

Professor Jonathan Swann, University of Southampton commented: "There is
growing evidence for the bi-directional communication between the microbiota
resident in the gut and biochemical processes and functions occurring in the
brain. Such processes and functions can modulate cognition and emotional
behaviour. This exciting project will apply high-resolution systems biology
approaches to human studies exploring the potential for microbial modulators
to improve stress, anxiety and sleep disorders. This will allow us to
comprehensively characterise the impact of changes to the microbiome on its
metabolic output and the biochemical flow to the human host. This information
will help us to understand the biomolecular mechanisms underlying any
potential changes in emotional behaviour. Such information will not only
advance our knowledge in this field but will also assist in refining
strategies to improve mental health."

 

Dr Keiran Tuohy, Fondazione Edmund Mach commented: "Disrupted sleep and sleep
apnea are recognised risk factors of poor metabolic health and cardiovascular
risk and are closely related to stress. Recent research has identified an
important role for the gut microbiota and specific probiotic strains in
regulating not just circadian rhythms and the gut clock, but also in building
resilience to emotional stress. Metabolites produced by gut bacteria from
certain foods (e.g. prebiotic fibers or amino acids like glutamate or
tryptophan) or through co-metabolism of bile acids produced in the liver, are
thought to underpin communication along the gut:brain axis. Moreover, many of
these same metabolites regulate inflammation and cellular metabolism, two
processes intricately linked to cardiovascular risk. This project aims to
screen a panel of probiotic strains and prebiotics for their ability to
produce molecules linked to cell signalling processes in the gut and
systemically related to regulation of circadian rhythm, brain function,
stress, inflammation and energy metabolism."

 

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this
announcement.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 OptiBiotix Health plc            www.optibiotix.com (http://www.optibiotix.com)
 Stephen O'Hara, Chief Executive  Contact via Walbrook below

 Walbrook PR Ltd                  Mob: 07876 741 001
 Anna Dunphy

 

About OptiBiotix - www.optibiotix.com (http://www.optibiotix.com)

OptiBiotix Health plc (AIM: OPTI) is  a biotechnology company formed in March
2012 which brings science and human studies to the development of compounds
which modify the human microbiome - the collective genome of the microbes in
the body - in order to prevent and manage human disease and promote wellness.

 

OptiBiotix has an extensive R&D programme working with leading academics
in the development of microbial strains, compounds, and formulations which are
used as active ingredients, supplements, and potentially drug biotherapeutic
products. More than seventy international food and healthcare supplement
companies have signed agreements with OptiBiotix to incorporate their human
microbiome modulators into a wide range of supplements, fooid, dairy, and
beverage products.

 

OptiBiotix is also developing its own range of consumer supplements and health
products. The Company's current areas of focus include obesity, cardiovascular
health, and diabetes.

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