FrieslandCampina Ingredients, the supplier of Biotis, a branded galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) prebiotic ingredient, recently announced the results of a clinical trial which found that daily supplementation with the ingredient was associated with reductions in self-reported anxiety in young women. While past animal studies have indicated these potential benefits, the current study, published in Scientific Reports, is the first human clinical trial to demonstrate a link between GOS consumption, gut microbiota consumption, and mental well-being.
 
Its findings “open the door for prolific, clinically-proven innovation in the supplement and functional food sectors,” André Groeneveld, discovery manager at FrieslandCampina Ingredients, said.
 
During a four-week trial, 64 women between the ages of 18 and 25 with self-reported symptoms of anxiety with no clinical diagnosis, who received a daily dose of Biotis GOS or a placebo supplement. Participants completed psychological self-assessment surveys at baseline, and at the end of the study, to assess their general health, including their sleep quality, mood, and stress levels. The authors of the study also carried out gut microbiome sequencing analysis on the participants in order to evaluate physiological changes.
 
After 28 days, the group receiving Biotis GOS reported improved mental well-being and reduced anxiety levels, while the microbiome sequencing analysis showed that they experienced significant increases in levels of the beneficial genus Bifidobacteria compared to placebo. Brain imaging was also deployed on a sub-sample of participants to determine how changes in the gut microbiome may impact brain functioning.
 
The authors of the study confirmed that GOS supplementation resulted in significant anxiolytic effects in participants with self-reported trait anxiety, with “trends toward reduced negative emotional bias and increased positive bias,” noting that supplementation of GOS in a fortified food or drink may be beneficial in instances of non- or pre-clinical anxiety.
 
“Research into the gut-brain axis is still a relatively new field, so it’s very exciting that this study has provided further evidence of the link between the gut microbiome and mental well-being, as well as how psychobiotics like Biotis GOS can reduce symptoms and feelings of anxiety,” Vicky Davies, global marketing director at FrieslandCampina Ingredients, said. “We developed Biotis to usher in a new era of ingredients science – one that responds directly to the key concerns of today’s consumers. Given the challenges of the last year, mental wellbeing, including anxiety, is one of the most pressing and widespread global health issues right now. We’re very proud to be playing our role in furthering scientific understanding of how prebiotics like galacto-oligosaccharides can target the microbiome to bring about benefits in mental wellbeing.”
 
“We have been able to show that a simple and safe food supplement including prebiotics can improve both the abundance of beneficial bacteria in the gut, and mental health and well-being in young women,” Dr. Kathrin Cohen Kadosh, reader in Developmental Cognitive Neurosicence at the University of Surrey and Head of the Social Brain and Development Lab, said. “This new research marks a significant step forward and opens up more opportunity to advance our understanding of the link between the gut microbiome and mental well-being.”