ADM highlights how probiotics improve skin health holistically
12 Oct 2021 | ADM
Two megatrends within skincare, probiotics and ingestible beauty are meeting in ADM’s latest research which found improvements for skin-related issues, such as psoriasis, from consuming targeted probiotics. ADM’s vice president of science and technology, health and wellness, Marta Tortajada Serra speaks to PersonalCareInsights about the holistic appeal of the skin-gut axis, innovative NPD potential and how consumers are responding to these growing trends.
This is Cristiana Lalo, and I'm here with Martha Tortejada Cerra, Vice President of Science and Technology, Health and Wellness at ADM who's here to talk to us today about the microbiome's potential for skin health.
Hi, Martha, how are you?
Hello, Cristiana.
I'm doing , thank you.
The number one question on everyone's mind is, what is the link between the gut microbiome and skin health?
Yeah, so there's a huge potential for that, connection and there are 3 main reasons if we think about that.
So the first is that consumers already know about gut microbiome.
They have already made that connection and of course we all realize that the composition of our gut.
Communities has an impact on digestive health and also immune health, but now we've extended understanding that the gut microbiome is also impacting the functioning of extraintestinal systems such as skin, which is known as the gut skin axis.
They have really connected.
The fact that gut health and microbiome impact not specifically digestive but also overall health.
So, in fact, this connection is something that a majority, almost 70% of consumers would make.
They would connect skin and overall health.
So The second thing is that they are not fully satisfied with what they find already within skin health and almost, almost half would be seeking for alternatives, particularly, and this would be 3, probably as a consequence of the first two, particularly in the nutritional space.
So they are proactively seeking products that would address their skin and overall health through microbiome.
Mhm, mhm.
I see.
I see.
Then how can this be leveraged to create, the, let's say targeted skincare NPD?
Yeah, so the, the first, group of, microbial solutions that would come into mind would be probiotics.
This is already there, so it, it is not new.
I think it's almost 10% of probiotic products that are found currently in the market are actually targeting skin health.
But what is new is the increase.
So that if we found a few launches like 5 to 10 years ago, then we would find recently almost 200 new products that relate to skin health specifically and I'm referring to probiotic products addressing skin health.
So this means that the connection.
We discussed previously has also jumped to probiotics so that we can think of er microbiome solutions formulated, making use of probiotics, targeting specifically skin health.
Oh, and this is mostly for supplements or is it also like food and beverage, products, let's say.
Yeah, it's, it's a very good point.
So the interesting part of probiotics in order to address or to target skin health is the convenience because we could actually have both.
So depending on the needs of the consumer and this could happen either daily or change, depending on the lifestyle, they would be able to find these formulations in dietary.
Supplements, but as in food and beverage formats, which also introduces an interesting element because there of course the diversity would be very high.
So we would find from traditional dairy, yogurts, kind of products but also ready to drink formats or even more innovative, ones such as gummies.
Yeah, so this provides options.
Yeah, that's, that's really, it's really interesting.
Yeah, gums especially are thriving.
Then, is personalization important when it comes to probiotics and, can it be achieved, let's say, can, can we have personalized probiotics for consumers?
Yes, so obviously, and it's an important question because consumers are demanding that.
So, when, when we explore from our own internal research and it's also mainstream, the, the options that consumers are demanding, particularly in food and drink solutions, vast majority would state that they are looking for specific solutions to address their particular needs.
And within that a quarter referred to skin health.
So the personalization is important in general, but it is also specifically quoted for, for skin health.
And of course every type of consumers would have particular, particular needs and we can approach that through the product that is specifically designed for that, through the format and also with additional elements.
Such as flavors or colors.
So, at ADM we would use a signaling ingredients that would bring in that element.
Mhm.
So that we can match the functional component with the attributes of the product and elevate nutrient dense offerings.
Oh, I see.
That's super, it's super interesting.
Oh, then how is ADM then innovating in this, in this arena, in this space?
Yeah, so at ADM the teams have developed two very specific products that are targeting gut skin axis.
So the connection in, in between digestive and skin health.
One related to psoriasis and the second related to atopic dermatitis.
Mhm.
So for, for the First, it's interesting that the team was exploring the microbiome composition in people affected by psoriasis, and they found a particular signature, a particular composition that differed from the ones found in the individuals who didn't have psoriasis, and that led the team into thinking that , and maybe if the composition was different, it could be managed by introducing probiotics, so an oral approach to the, to the condition which is something, different, and then when the, yeah, when the, when the study was run.
Actually, 3 different bacteria were used, complementary that had been selected on the basis of the pre-clinical research that had been conducted and then the, the results were really striking because there is a specific parameter in psoriasis which is the PASI index that measures the severity of the, of the condition and over the study.
Mhm.
Which was a gold standard clinical trial, we saw a reduction of this index of the, the group that was consuming the probiotic blend together with the standard of care because it's important, the intention is not to replace but to provide a nutritional solution for that.
So while making use of the standard of care, the, the severity index er diminished and then also very interestingly After, after the study finished, there was also a reduction of in comparison to placebo in the group that was consuming the probiotics in the time that they remained symptom-free.
So the time that elapsed until they got the severity of the symptoms increased again.
And then the second one which relates to atopic dermatitis follows a similar strategy.
So in this case, children.
With ages, with ages comprised in between 4 and 17, so almost teenagers, but had been diagnosed with atopic dermatitis which has a very high prevalence, were provided together with the standard of care with a probiotic blend.
And then in, in this case, we, we also saw a, a reduction of the index which in this case is measured by the SCOAT index and also a reduction of the use of topical steroids which is the, the, er, standard of therapy, er, in the group that was consuming the, the probiotic and the, the results were also published in a, a reference journal in the, in the sector which is GAA Dermatology.
Certainly a very novel approach to both those conditions then interesting.
Then, , how are consumers responding to this, to this trend, to the ingestible, say, skincare trend, the beauty from within trend.
Yeah, so, as, as we discussed earlier, it's, it's already there.
So one could even think that it's been driven by consumers or even by this improved understanding of what the microbiome means.
So, overall it's almost 80% of consumers that are expressing interest.
They are proactively seeking this.
Solutions in many cases consuming them already.
So probably this er just demonstrates that there's a majority of consumers interested in learning more, seeking solutions that would address their skin health from within, as you said, from that microbiome perspective in order to address not only skin.
The skin as a marker of overall health and, and disease.
So they are making the link in between internal and external, but also from the longer term perspective.
Oh, wow, this is all super interesting.
We'll definitely be looking out for, more IDM innovations on the space.
Thank you very, very much, Martha, for your time.
It's all been very enlightening.
Thank you very much, Christiana.
It's been my pleasure.
