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The gut microflora and probiotics can impact stress and behavior

Published: December 12, 2008
Source : Lallemand Inc.
International scientists gathered for Institut Rosell-Lallemand Scientific Exchange break new ground on probiotics research and pave the way for new applications
More than 40 scientists and experts from different universities and research centers across North America and Europe gathered last month in Quebec City to participate in Institut Rosell-Lallemand's Scientific Exchange. With varying though complementary backgrounds ranging from neuroscience to gastroenterology to animal behavior, all shared a common interest in probiotic research and application. The meeting focused on the intricate and complex relationship between the brain and the gut. New and exciting data were shared, contributing to establishing the interactions between this "brain-gut" axis and the gut microflora, as well as the potential of probiotic use. At a time when modern farming practices represent an important source of stress factors for animals, affecting their performance, health and well-being, some promising behavioral studies were shared showing that probiotics can help to manage stress and influence behavior. This unique interdisciplinary meeting was a real platform for exchanging ideas and methodology. It allowed the participants to set new directions for future probiotic research and paved the way for new applications in both animal and human nutrition.

The brain, the gut and the bugs: a fascinating triangle
The idea of a brain-gut axis is not a new concept, the first scientific studies of the subject date back to the 1960s. The fact that communication works both ways and that the gut can talk to the brain is a more recent concept. Even more novel is the idea of looking at the role of the intestinal microflora, or microbiota, with the addition of probiotics, in this brain-gut cross-talk.
As explained by Professor Stephen Collins of McMaster University Medical Centre (Canada): "The intestinal microbiota has profound effects on host function and should be incorporated into a modern conceptualization of the gut-brain axis." He added: "In this model, changes in brain responses, such as stress or anxiety, influence the physiology of the gut, altering the habitat for the microbiota. The microbiota, in turn, influences gut physiology and immunity at the gut mucosa level. Our recent data indicate that perturbation of the microbiota also influences behavior."
Until now, probiotics had mostly been documented for their role in digestive health and functions: prevention of diarrhea or bloating, transit regulation, lactose intolerance...in human, and optimized feed efficiency and pathogen control in animal production. In recent years, scientists have also studied their interactions with the immune system. With their action on the gut microflora balance, probiotics could also affect the brain-gut axis, as confirmed during the seminar.


Effects of probiotics on behavior, stress and anxiety
More than ten different scientific studies were presented, showing how specific probiotic preparations play a role in animal behavior, their reaction to stress, anxiety, or memory formation post-infection.
For animals raised with modern production methods, stress is a recurrent issue, and probiotics are increasingly used as a natural solution to control pathogens development or to optimize performance. Several significant studies were presented showing how probiotics can also impact stress and behavior and be an ally to reduce the impact of stress in animal production.
During the session dedicated to monogastric animals, for instance, Dr Nicola Walker (Lallemand, Montreal), demonstrated that farrowing, an important stress event for sows and yet an extremely critical step of its production cycle, induced a dramatic change in the sows digestive microflora. She explained that:" In our study, we showed that the normal balance of the sow's gut microflora was disturbed by farrowing. However, when the sows had received probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii I-1079 for three weeks prior to farrowing, their microflora was less affected by this stress event, indicating a degree of stabilization." She concluded that: "The probiotic yeast may help to stabilize the gut normal microflora during periods of stress, thus potentially reducing the proliferation of opportunistic pathogens and thereby leading to improved health and performance." In another presentation by Dr Alex Bach, from IRTA, Barcelona (Spain), it was re-stated that ruminant-specific yeast S. cerevisiae I-1077 can help regularize feeding patterns in dairy cows.
Didier Desor, Professor of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences at University Henri Poincaré in Nancy (France), presented a pre-clinical study with a probiotic preparation (Probio'StickTM from Institut Rosell-Lallemand) which has already been shown to be effective in humans in reducing the gastro-intestinal symptoms linked to stress. Using a mouse model validated with Diazepam, it was shown that: "the probiotic was able to reduce signs of anxiety, displaying an "anxiolytic-like" effect. Such effect had not been previously described with probiotics."

All probiotics are different
One of the evident conclusions that came from the numerous discussions during the seminar was the renewed certitude that all strains are different. The benefits exerted by a particular microbial strain or blend of strains cannot be extended to others. Some of the studies presented were conducted on different probiotic preparations and the outcomes were diverging. We are just beginning to comprehend the necessity of matching a probiotic with a state of health.


Looking to the future
During the round-table discussion, it came out loud and clear that experts from different disciplines in both human and animal health have a lot to learn from each other. Professor Phil Sherman, from the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto (Canada), who chaired the discussion, concluded that: "the seminar was a great opportunity to build bridges, not only between the industry and academia but also between the different disciplines." We are learning that nutrition, gut health and psychological health need, more and more, to be linked together. All the participants left with new ideas and concepts which will be exchanged through new collaborations and interactions.


About Institut Rosell-Lallemand Scientific Exchange

Institut Rosell-Lallemand Scientific Exchange gathers actors from Institut Rosell-Lallemand's research partnerships network, in order to share their views and results and shape the future of probiotics research. Institut Rosell-Lallemand Scientific Exchange 2008 was held in Québec City in early November and focused on the gut-brain axis and its interactions with probiotics. 


About Lallemand

Lallemand, Inc. is a privately owned Canadian company specialized in yeast, bacteria and yeast derivatives, for animal nutrition, baking, winemaking and pharmaceutical industries. Lallemand is the only major supplier of yeast and bacteria that is a primary producer of both.
Lallemand Animal Nutrition is dedicated to the development, production, and marketing of profitable, natural and differentiated solutions for animal nutrition and health. Our core products are live bacteria for probiotics and silage inoculants, specific yeast for probiotics, and high value yeast derivatives.
Lallemand is a major supplier of probiotics and silage inoculants in Europe, North America and Africa. We also have a growing presence in Asia and South America.


About Institut Rosell

Institut Rosell has been part of the Lallemand Group since 1998. Today, it is part of Lallemand's Human Health and Nutrition Division and is dedicated to the selection, development, production and marketing of probiotic formulations for the food supplements and pharmaceutical industries. With extensive experience in the culturing and production of live microorganisms since 1932, the company conducts advanced research programs aimed at better understanding the properties, functions and beneficial effects of these probiotic formulations on health.
Source
Lallemand Inc.
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Sylvie Roquefeuil
Lallemand
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Pawan Kumar Mudgil
Regen Biocorps
31 de mayo de 2009

We all are looking for the alternates to common antibiotics.Probiotics seems to be quite promising.But we are not able to depend on them as we depend on antibiotics,because we have opposite results in variuos trials.Still probiotics have not gained the universal acceptance.Some work need to be done in field, because alternate to antibiotic is a need.

Marjan Rooijen
17 de febrero de 2020
Prebiotics should be taken along with the probiotics, as food or in a capsule form. It is important to note however, that adverse interactions between medications and some supplements are common. For example vitamins and minerals that exceed recommended dietary allowances may be harmful. Some common foods, including nuts, dairy products, fish, and eggs, may trigger allergic reactions, which may require emergency medical care. If you are considering taking dietary supplements or dramatically changing your diet, it is important to first consult with your healthcare provider or nutritionist. For more information on nutrition, including a helpful a rating guide to nutrition sites on the Internet, contact the Tufts University Nutrition Navigator at https://pharmacyrxs.com.
Arnab Banerjee
27 de septiembre de 2016
Hello Freinds, Rationally & scientifically developed Probiotic Cocktails which are administered as Direct Fed Microbial(DFM) has the ability to exhibit direct tangible benefits through Gut Health Managements both in monogastric and ruminant animals. SANZYME (earlier known as Uni-Sankyo) has developed multiple spore forming, aerobic, facultative anaerobic and obligatory anaerobic probiotic strains whose appropriate blends can maintain optimum gut microflora balance and provide complete gut management right from CROP to CAECA (C2C) in poultry. The animal health & nutrition fraternity need to start looking beyond BACILLUS SUBTILIS which is just an aerobe and has its activities limited within the small intestine as it requires oxygen for its proliferation. Interesting spore forming probiotic strains of BACILLUS COAGULANS & BACILLUS LICHENIFORMIS (both facultative anaerobes) and CLOSTRIDIUM BUTYRICUM (obligatory anaerobe which grows in the large intestine) along with SACCHAROMYCES BOULARDII (well known for its toxin binding, immunomodulatory, anti-pathogenic and anti-inflammatory actions in monogastrics) are strong candidates for blending with BACILLUS SUBTILIS for alleviating stress impact and improving performance in poultry birds without any inclusion of AGPs. SANZYME's proprietary MICRO-ENCAPSULATION TECHNOLOGY enhances the heat & pressure stability, acid & bile tolerance of all these spore-forming strains when used in PELLET FEEDS. Best Regards, ARNAB BANERJEE General Manager & BU Head Sanzyme Ltd., Hyderabad, India
Dr. K. M. Ehasanul Islam
8 de mayo de 2014
This article is better for vet. practitioner at field level. I also see at field level is fruitful . In Bangladesh i suggest for some farm those products like Levucell SB,Clostat, Protexin etc all are show positive response during heat stress against diarrhoea.In Srilankan market also same result for Clostat & Protexin.
Sergio Velez
Alimentos CCR
20 de diciembre de 2012

Perhaps ruminants due to their highy evolved symbiosis with rumen mciroorganisms may give light on other species. In ruminants the condition called ACIDOSIS clearly offers a particular valuable scenario for gut and microbial interaction examination. What we have learned is that ruminal flora is highly changing and very related to diet and in particular to certain physical -chemical parameters of the rumen such as pH, volatuile fatty acid production (salmonella and E. Coli are naturally very low levels in rumens) mode of feed intake, intake level and others.
Contrary to popular belief the rumen is an open system capable of population succesions and in may cases it is the "invasory" flora the cause of disease.

Dr. Mahadi Hasan
2 de agosto de 2011
Dear Ms. Midi-Pyrenees, My name is Dr. Mahadi Hasan from Bangladesh. I know about your products from your company website as well as most of the research article and know that you have some good products (probiotics) which have a great demands in our country. This concept is new for us. So I think there is a big opportunity of your products in our market for making business. We would like to make business with your company. Please suggest us how can we take the sole distributorship of your company and start business in the coming future. Hope our better cooperation make fruitful for us. Waiting for your quick and positive reply. Thanking you. Best Regards, Dr. Mahadi Hasan, DVM, MPH (Director) ALTEXCHEMI Corp. Ltd. Dhaka , Bangladesh
Pat Banjo
14 de julio de 2009

If their is a correlation between stress and gut physiology, altering the the gut microbiota and the immunity level of the bird. Also if their are specific probiotic preparations playing specific role in animal response to stress. Then, in the tropics, the greatest stress to efficient poultry production is heat stress. What is the relationship between heat stress, gut physiology and gut microbiota?Is their any research result(s) on probiotics that will reduce the effect(s) of heat stress on animaal production?

Chandrasekar S
Neospark Drugs and Chemicals Pvt.Ltd
8 de julio de 2009

Yes I also agree that probiotics are much useful for stress management. We have tried our product Spectra-DFM (which provides 5x107 cfu per gram of feed) against AGPs during the month of APR and MAY (Peak summer in India). It has performed better than AGPs and proved even to replace AGPs. It i sdue to the high concentration in the feed and 13 different essential organisms.

Mohamad Naeem Mahmoud
Mohamad Naeem Mahmoud
8 de julio de 2009

thank you for these added informations about probiotics
it will be valuable in poultry industry
Best Regards

Dr. Justin Tan Yu-Wen
Meriden Animal Health Limited
4 de junio de 2009

I tend to agree with Mr. Philippe Gossart on this matter.

Even though probiotics are theoretically beneficial for the animal, there are a lot of factors at play in the field. Most of these factors cannot be controlled by human intervention. One example is the continuous battle between pathogenic and beneficial bacteria within the intestinal microbiota. This delicate and inverse relationship is also known as competitive exclusion (CE), where a increase in the beneficial/saprophytic bacterial population would lead to a decrease in the pathogenic bacterial numbers, and vice versa. In stressful conditions or when there is disease challenge, CE tends to favour the intestinal pathogens, such as E. coli and Salmonella. This is even more pronounced in immuno-compromised animals. That is why such bacteria are called opportunistic pathogens - they are ubiquitous and exist in the intestines in small and harmless numbers, but multiply rapidly in such critical situations to populous numbers that can cause intestinal disease, of which diarrhoea is usually the first clinical sign.

Therefore, it is my personal opinion that for the case of probiotics, sometimes they work, and sometimes they dont...and results are always variable. From my experience, they usually fail especially at times of dire and utmost need, which of course are during times of stress or disease challenge. During such critical periods, I would recommend an additive with more potent antibacterial properties, such as oregano essential oil, where killing efficacy is guaranteed and development of bacterial resistance is not possible. Oregano oil has been shown to improve the numbers of beneficial bacteria within the microbiota, such as Lactobacillus spp, while easily killing pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens. The result is a balanced intestinal microbiota and healthier intestines, where absorption of nutrients from the feed can be maximised.

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