The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy and activity of one of Deerland’s novel probiotic strains of Bacillus. The company have a number of clinical trials showing this strain of probiotic is effective in supporting digestive and immune health in humans. However, little is known around the actual mechanism of action responsible for the efficacy of this unique strain. Gaining insights into the mechanisms helps support development of the product to allow further innovation beyond the currently available products on the market. Understanding these details in human subjects is complicated and Deerland does not support animal testing, therefore these studies were conducted in cell culture models at Shannon ABC in Kerry using intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2 cells).
Two in vitro experiments were performed to investigate the antimicrobial activity of the Bacillus strain against two common pathogenic bacteria strains, and to assess the adhesion ability of the strain to the mammalian colorectal Caco-2 cell line (a key probiotic trait). The obtained results in this study showed a growth inhibitory effect of the Bacillus strain against one of the pathogenic bacteria strains and confirmed its ability to adhere to Caco-2 cells. Both findings highlight desirable traits of the product for Deerland, encouraging them to proceed to the next steps in their product development with this particular strain. The findings have given the company an understanding of the adhesion and antagonistic activity of their unique strain and this developed model can be a base for investigations of next generation strains in the company’s R&D pipeline.
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