Nutrileads demonstrates potent gut and brain health benefits for carrot-based precision prebiotic

A new study evidences how Nutrileads’ Benicaros ingredient, a precision prebiotic upcycled from carrot pomace, can significantly increase the gut bacterial production of a health-beneficial compound in the body called indole-3-propionic acid (IPA).

The findings, published in “The Roles of Diet, Gut Microbiome and Microbial Metabolome in Precision Nutrition” — a special edition of the journal Metabolites — demonstrate how this complex polysaccharide fiber can steer the metabolic output of the gut microbiota.

Benicaros is a complex mixture of carrot rhamnogalacturonan-I (cRG-I) molecules. The researchers found that it promotes the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, including Bifidobacterium longum, which helps convert a nutrient called tryptophan into IPA —  a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecule that helps protect the gut and other parts of the body from damage.

“The promotion of IPA by Benicaros through gut microbiome modulation is remarkably consistent,” says Dr. Pieter van den Abbeele, co-author and CSO of Cryptobiotix, which received funding from Nutrileads to perform this research.

“We identified Bifidobacterium longum as a key intermediary in this process, a finding corroborated by published animal and human clinical studies. This underscores the predictive potential of our ex vivo SIFR technology and how it helps to decipher the complexities of the gut microbiome.” 

IPA and health

Scientific studies have linked IPA to improved gut, immune, cardiovascular, brain and metabolic health.

“Benicaros consistently modulates the gut microbiome, delivering reliable results regardless of individual differences in gut microbiome composition,” says NutriLeads CEO, Dr. Joana Carneiro-Wakefield.

“We are very excited about these new results, as they suggest that Benicaros could offer health benefits beyond gut and immune health, potentially supporting the gut-brain connection as well.”

Benicaros was found to consistently stimulate IPA production (Image credit: Cryptobiotix).Nutrileads says that by increasing IPA levels, Benicaros has the potential to support not only gut and immune health but also broader areas like brain function and heart health.

“This study demonstrates that cRG-I (Benicaros) promotes tryptophan conversion into IPA via gut microbiome modulation, thus conferring benefits via amino acid-derived metabolites. It broadens our knowledge beyond benefits previously reported for short-chain fatty acids that result from carbohydrate fermentation,” says Annick Mercenier, Ph.D., first author of the study. 

Application in pet nutrition

Last July, NutriLeads and dsm-firmenich entered a strategic collaboration to evaluate the potential applications of Benicaros in improving pets’ gut and immune health. The companies have entered an exclusive global partnership to develop products containing a pet food version of Benicaros.

In 2023, BeniCaros was named the “best health innovation product” for plant-based innovation at the Plant-Based World Expo in New York City, US.

Just a few months after BeniCaros received the “best product” title, NutriLeads landed a €4.5 million (US$4.9 million) investment from dsm-firmenich to facilitate the commercialization of the precision prebiotic fiber.