Call for partners | Ferment4Health: Mitigating low-grade inflammation with fermented foods and postbiotics

On average, one in three individuals over 16 years of age living in the European Union has reported to suffer from at least one chronic disease. Low-grade inflammation is a key driver and thus managing this inflammation is key for preventing or delaying these diseases. While probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics are widely accepted, postbiotics may offer new and additional benefits for health. Probiotic beneficial bacteria and their mechanisms have been extensively studied. However, the health effects of their metabolites or structural components have been less explored. Postbiotics, however, as compared to probiotics, have a longer shelf life and can be obtained with product fermentation, as functionality does not rely on cell viability. They have been suggested to exert the same benefits as probiotics without incurring the risks associated with a living organism. Three potential underlying mechanisms of postbiotics include protective modulation against pathogens, enhancement of the epithelial barrier, and the modulation of inflammatory and immune responses, making them a promising treatment strategy for sub-health conditions, such as low-grade inflammation and increased intestinal permeability.

The goal of this research is to investigate the effect of fermented foods and postbiotics on low-grade inflammation, intestinal permeability and immune support and to explore potential underlying mechanisms. To achieve this, we will perform a clinical human study in combination with biomarker analysis, ex vivo analyses (e.g immune cells and fecal microbiota) and in vitro analyses based on established and further improved human digestion and cell models. We will furthermore take a deep dive into literature to explore the current scientific evidence between fermented foods, postbiotics, and their pure components (e.g. specific metabolite) on low-grade inflammation.

Partners

We are looking for food ingredient companies and end producers of fermented foods and postbiotics that want to better understand the potential health effects and are also interested to support the development and improvement of in vivo, in vitro, and ex vivo models to assess those effects. Together with the companies we would like to co-shape the project idea and invite industrial partners to join the consortium. The cash and in-kind contributions should be determined before September as it will determine the project costs that will be covered by the Ministry and so the research plan.