Are probiotic microorganisms the new drugs? The surge in the number of scientific
articles and patents in recent times, on microbes that confer health benefits
when consumed, definitely hints so.
Etymologically, the term probiotic appears to be a composite of the Latin preposition
pro ("for") and the Greek adjective ß??t???? (biotic), the latter
deriving from the noun ß??? (bios, "life") [Miller et al British
Journal of Nutrition, 2003]. Lilly and Stillwell coined the term probiotic in
1965 and defined it as "a substance produced by one microorganism stimulating
the growth of another microorganism" and understood a probiotic as opposite
to an antibiotic [Rusch,2002].Over the course of time, various definitions of
probiotics have surfaced and the internationally adopted FAO/WHO definition
was coined in 2001 which describes probiotics as
"Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer
a health benefit on the host"
Latest research in medicine has focused on using micro organisms for preventing
and treating various diseases and disorders and to improve the general health
of living beings. Probiotics for general health (yoghurt) is not a new concept,
but probiotics with therapeutic properties is an aspect gaining momentum in
the light of increasing need to go natural for cure.
The human ‘metagenome’ is a composite of Homo sapiens genes and
genes present in the genomes of the trillions of microbes that colonize our
adult bodies (the ‘microbiome’). An estimated 10-100 trillion organisms
reside in the human gut (the gut microbiota). Almost all living beings with
digestive tracts (insects, birds, mammals) have metagenomes and microbiota unique
to each creature in the gut.
The gut microbiome encodes metabolic capacities that remain largely unexplored
but include the degradation of otherwise indigestible components of our diet.
Scientific studies have revealed linkages between distal gut microbial ecology,
microbial community gene content, and host immunity [June L Round et al Nature
Reviews Immunology, 2009]. Other studies have also demonstrated links between
microbial ecology and various metabolic disorders [Ping Li et al Nature, 2010]
such as obesity, inflammatory diseases, and diabetes [Vijay kumar et al Science,
2010].
Articles in reputed journals [Turnbaugh et al Nature, 2007] [Wei Ja et al Nature,
2008] refer to the microbiota and microbiome, as suitable targets for developing
personalized, preventive and therapeutic medicine. Varying the microbiota of
the poultry, livestock and human beings through probiotic food and feed supplements
is only scratching the surface of the medicinal and commercial potential of
probiotics in the years to come.
Methods of Analysis:
Dolcera report focuses on finding the key innovators and the industry ecosystem
through relevant patents, clinical trials and university data encompassing the
advances in gut biology and probiotic micro-organisms in food. The relevant
keywords used in the search were obtained after an extensive study of relevant
scientific articles and patents. Additional keywords were further obtained by
searching for the MeSH terms of the relevant keywords. The relevant class codes
for the search were obtained from the control patents and keyword based searches
coupled with manual search of classification index. Dolcera has retrieved around
2198 relevant patents related to Probiotic microbes, their effect on the consumer
and their usage in food, covering 14 countries. The report highlights year-wise
patent activity (trend line), geographical distribution of patents along with
the key industrial players in the field. Assignees were categorized based on
the type of products. . Furthermore, patents have been mapped to commercially
available products produced by the respective assignees. The report also highlights
different Universities and Research Institutes active in the research of the
said technology area, hence pointing out opportunities for Industry tie-ups.
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