The Muscle Mag
While Kerry already offers several probiotic solutions, entering the postbiotic market with its new rice-derived Lactobacillus casei subsp. 327 ingredient will provide additional options for manufacturers and consumers.
“Postbiotics are gaining popularity in the health and wellness industry due to their long-lasting stability, opening up new opportunities for formulation innovation,” said Jordan Dow, vice president at Kerry ProActive Health, to NutraIngredients.
The ingredient has been designed to be effective at a low dose of 100 mg for promoting skin health and offers increased versatility for a range of supplement formulations, Dow explained.
Holistic healthy aging
Plenibiotic works by focusing on the gut-skin axis, a topic of growing interest among consumers.
“Due to the connection between the gut and other bodily systems such as the skin, benefits that support digestive health can also have positive effects on these interconnected systems,” Dow noted. “Although research is ongoing in this area, consumers are increasingly aware of the relationship between maintaining digestive and skin health as part of aging gracefully.”
According to a 2023 Innova Trends Survey, the number of supplements globally promoting skin health has tripled in the last five years. The same study revealed that 75% of consumers prioritize healthy aging, with a third actively pursuing this goal starting at age 30.
For those focused on healthy aging, the link between digestive and skin health is a significant concern, with 55% of individuals prioritizing digestive health also showing interest in skin health (Kerry Proprietary Research – Proactive Health, 2024).
“We must rethink the role of supplements in consumers’ lives by focusing on ingredients that support proactive health and wellness,” Dow emphasized.
The gut-skin axis
Scientists are continually uncovering the role of the gut in various bodily systems. Postbiotics are thought to contribute to maintaining healthy skin by stimulating the immune system, enhancing the production of skin barrier components, and regulating skin inflammation.
In a digestive health study, participants who consumed Plenibiotic showed a significant increase in frequency of defecation and defecation days per week compared to the placebo group. Additionally, in a skin health study with participants experiencing high levels of transepidermal water loss (TEWL), those taking Plenibiotic showed significantly lower TEWL levels than the placebo group.
The introduction of the rice-derived postbiotic marks the completion of Kerry’s commercial agreement with Japan-based Kameda Seika to exclusively market and distribute the company’s rice-derived postbiotic in America and Europe in 2022.
