Mario Guslandi graduated in Medicine and specialized in Gastroenterology at the  State University of Milan. He has been research fellow and  Medical Assistant at the Institute of Internal Medicine of University of Milan from 1978 to 1990. In 1990 he moved to S.Raffaele Hospital of Milan, where he has been  Head of the Clinical Hepato-Gastroenterology Unit from 1991 to 2016. Since January 2017 he is Consultant  Gastroenterologist at San Raffaele Hospital.  He is also Adjunt Professor at both  the  School of Medicine and the Post-graduate School in  Gastroenterology of the S.Raffaele University of Milan. Dr Guslandi is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology and a member of the British Society of Gastroentero­logy.  He is author of more than 500 scientific papers, most of which appeared in international medical journals and parti­cipated as a speaker in various international congresses and symposia.

Probiotics are  potentially helpful in  chronic intestinal disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease(IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and symptomatic, uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD) where there is an alteration in the composition and/ or diversity of the gut microbiota (  so called dysbiosis). IBD (Ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease) is characterized by a reduction of Firmicutes (e.g. F. prausnitzii), Roseburia hominis, Prevotella etc. and a possible increase of C.concisus. Various controlled trials versus placebo employing Lactobacilli, the probiotic mixture VSL #3 or S.boulardii alone failed to find significant benefits in Crohn’s  disease. By contrast E.Coli Nissle 1917 was found as effective as mesalazine in maintaining remission of ulcerative colitis, while VSL#3 plus mesalazine was significantly superior to placebo+mesalazine. VSL#3 monotherapy is superior to placebo in inducing remission of ulcerative colitis and in maintaining remission of pouchitis in subjects with ileal-anal anastomosis after restorative proctocolectomy. IBS is a multi-factorial  condition the symptoms of which  can be partially related to Dysbiosis (reduced fecal amount of Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria and F.prausnitzii). Although trials with probiotics have employed different products and doses, various meta- Analyses have concluded that probiotics as a group ( especially Bifidobacteria )are useful in ameliorating  clinical symptoms. SUDD is largely depending on the gut microbiota. An increase in the amount and in the diversity of Enterobacteriacee have been described ,while different types of dysbiosis seem to be linked to different symptoms. Open studies suggest that  probiotics  alone may help to prevent development of acute diverticulitis, but controlled trials are lacking. On the other hand controlled studies with probiotics + mesalazine  indicate a superior efficacy over single agents  and placebo.

Dr. Shahram Lavasani is an international keynote speaker and entrepreneur in the field of the microbiome. He received his PhD in Immunology from Lund University in Sweden while studying the immunoregulation and immunotherapies in multiple sclerosis (MS). With more than two decades of teaching and research expertise on Gut-Brain axis, he has pioneered research in MS by demonstrating gut inflammation and barrier dysfunction and introduced microbiota-based therapies using probiotic bacterial consortia. He is the founder of ImmuneBiotech developing novel microbiome therapeutics. The company has access to a proprietary lactobacilli library and advanced selection technologies to design nutritional formulations for optimal management of the diseases. ImmuneBiotech´s first product GutMagnific^© has been designed to address the underlying causes of IBS and successfully launched to European market in October 2019.

The presentation will navigate through the translational, clinical, and manufacturing challenges of microbiome-based therapeutics evolving company´s first product GutMagnific^© which has successfully been launched in European market in October 2019.

Following key point will be discussed:

• Microbiota dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Brain-gut-microbiome axis; potential therapeutic targets and probiotic treatments
• Designing multi-targeted therapeutic microbial consortium; translational success for GutMagnific^© in management of IBS
• ImmuneBiotics^TM, new generation of probiotic products designed to boost the immunotherapy treatments.

Jeremy Everett is the Professor of Pharmaceutical Technologies at the University of Greenwich UK and Visiting Professor in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College. Jeremy conducts research in metabonomics/metabolomics and pharmaco-metabonomics. His current work is focused on genotype – metabotype correlations in the areas of obesity and ageing and he is a co-inventor on a recently filed patent on an anti-obesity agent. Jeremy received both his BSc and PhD in chemistry from Nottingham University, UK. He did post-doctoral studies at McMaster University and at McGill University in Canada. Jeremy is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Chartered Chemist, a Member of the American Chemical Society, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is an author or co-author on over 100 peer-reviewed publications and patents, with over 4,900 citations to date and an h-index of 31. He has delivered over 60 invited lectures.

Metabolic profiling or metabonomics is an important systems biology methodology for disease diagnosis and prognosis. It is also an excellent methodology for the phenotyping of genetically modified mice. We recently used this technology in collaboration with the group of Professor Elizabeth Shephard at UCL, to investigate the metabolic phenotype of a genetically modified mouse that had an unusual, lean phenotype. The genetic modification in this mouse caused a change in its microbiome, and the production by the microbiome, of a new metabolite X. We identified this compound by spectroscopic methods and subsequently showed it to have antiobesity properties and to be responsible for the lean clinical phenotype. This talk will provide an overview of this work and the properties of compound X.

Eino Elias Hakalehto, PhD, serves as an Adjunct Professor of Microbiological Agroecology for the Department of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Fe is also serving as an Adjunct Professor of Biotechnical Microbe Analytics at the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio. He has participated with his R&D company, Finnoflag Oy, in more than 100 specific investigation tasks in industrial hygiene monitoring, clinical microbiology, environmental protection, diagnostics, bioprocess development, and research on probiotics. He is the principal author and editor of Alimentary Microbiome – A PMEU Approach and the series in Microbiological Hygiene (Clinical, Food, Industrial and Environmental Hygiene), and has contributed to several other high-ranked books of microbiology, biotechnology, and microbial ecology. Dr. Hakalehto has also developed research equipment and probiotic combinations for positively contributing to the health of individuals with various digestive imbalances.

The common goal of microbial mixed communities is to achieve a balance between various members (strains). Correspondingly, in a healthy human individual, there is an active and reciprocally beneficial molecular communication existing between the host and the alimentary microbiome. The latter one is promoting the epithelial health by some of its metabolites, such as butyrate in the colon. In the upper intestines, in the duodenum, various members of Enterobacteriaceae are striving for an oscillating balance which supports the adsorption of nutritive compounds by the host. The Bacteriological Intestinal Balance (BIB) supports our general and digestive health. One of the main purpose of probiotic treatments should be the supporting these balances and metabolic interactions. In this survey, the specific features of the microflora in different parts of the digestive system are introduced. Several patient cases are presented regarding the ways of balancing the microbiome. The potential of IgY (chicken egg yolk) antibodies in modulating the microbiological community is also discussed.

Maria Karolina Szmidt is a PhD Student in the field of Human Nutrition at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS), Poland. Her PhD thesis is focused on examining the association between diet and menstrual symptoms, including menstrual pain, flow, and mood among young women. Her main interests within human nutrition are nutritional epidemiology, healthy aging, and human microbiota in health and disease.

According to the World Health Organization, 322 million people suffer from depression worldwide, and this figure has increased by 18.4% over the decade. Recent studies show that intestinal microbiota is an important factor determining both the risk of depression development and the persistence of depressive symptoms. This review aimed to present current knowledge of the association between microbiota and depression and discuss the antidepressive therapeutic potential of probiotics/synbiotics for depression. The results of the recent studies indicate that microbiota can play an important role in the depression development. It is suggested that microbiota acting through the microbiota-gut-brain axis modulates the endocrine system, immunological system, and central nervous system. Dysfunction of these systems has been well documented among depressed patients. The antidepressive mechanism of probiotics is still not fully understood, but the results from available human studies indicate that the use of selected strains (L. acidophilus, L. casei, B. bifidum, B. longum) and synbiotics was associated with the reduction of depressive symptoms. In addition, in intervention studies probiotic/synbiotic supplementation was associated with decreased concentration of inflammatory parameters (hs-CRP, glutathione, kynurenine). Considering the increasing number of patients with depression, it seems important to conduct further high-quality studies, especially clinical trials with larger study groups. Those findings will be of public health importance and could provide answers on whether probiotics may play an important role in preventing and treating depression.

The current systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effect of probiotic/synbiotic on a wide range of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers in healthy and various disease conditions. PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases were searched. All clinical trials which investigated the effect of oral administration of probiotic or synbiotic on inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL) 1b, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) a, interferon (IFN) g and transforming growth factor (TGF) b) for more than one week with concurrent control groups were included. One-hundred sixty-seven publications was analysed. Results were as follows: CRP decreased in healthy, metabolic disorders, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), arthritis and critically ill condition but not in renal failure. IL-1B: no change in healthy subjects and arthritis. TNF-a: decreased in healthy, fatty liver, IBD and hepatic cirrhosis, no change in diabetes, metabolic syndrome (MS) þ PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and arthritis. IL-6: no change in healthy, metabolic disorders and arthritis, increased in cirrhosis and renal failure, decreased in PCOS þ MS. IL-10: no change in healthy, IBD and metabolic disorders, increased in arthritis. IL-4, IL-8, IL-12, IFN-g and TGF-b: no change in healthy subjects. In conclusion, probiotic/synbiotic decreased some of the inflammatory markers. The intervention was most effective in CRP and TNF-a reduction in healthy or disease state. Moreover, the intervention decreased inflammation most effectively in the following disease conditions, respectively: IBD, arthritis, fatty liver.

In 2006, Gaurav Kaushik, a young and dynamic first-generation entrepreneur, set out to author a legacy. Today, under his leadership Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., with over 100 products across Enzymes, Probiotics, Nutraceuticals, Finished Formulations & Animal Healthcare, is a leading name in the biopharma landscape across the globe.

A gold medallist in Biotechnology and an astute businessman, Gaurav has been awarded the Rashtriya Udyog Ratan Award by the Council of Economic Growth & Research. He is also the recipient of the Indian Leadership Award for Industrial Development by the All India Achievers Foundation.  

More recently, under his leadership, Meteoric Biopharma has been recognized as one of the 25 Most Valuable Biopharma Companies by CEO Magazine for its uncompromised dedication to quality and investment in the latest technology. Mr. Kaushik himself was recognized amongst the 101 Most Fabulous Health Care Leaders by ET Rise & World Health & Wellness Congress.

• Microbiota are “the assemblage of microorganisms like all the bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes, and viruses which are present in a defined environment.” More specifically, the microbiota varies according to its surrounding environment. The term microbiota is thus preceded by the name of the environment in which it is located. So, microbiota present in the intestinal tract refers as ‘gut microbiota’.
• The human body’s largest population of microorganisms resides in the intestine and is collectively called the gut microbiota.

• Gut microbiota composition is mostly unique to each individual and is influenced by immunity, nutrition, and behavior. Origin and transmission of the microbiome are also connected with  medication, dietary habits, and the way food is cooked, environment and lifestyle, weight gain, genetics, the anatomical part of the intestinal tract, gestational age, delivery mode, feeding methods and aging.
• Microorganisms have evolved alongside humans and form an integral part of life, carrying out a range of vital functions. They are implicated in both health and disease, and research has found links between bacterial populations, whether normal or disturbed, and the following diseases like asthma, autism, cancer, celiac disease, malnutrition, obesity etc. So, disturb gut microbiota can be effectively regulate using probiotic and prebiotics.

Dr. Smita Singh obtained her BSc (Food Processing Technology) from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. She has obtained her M.Sc and Ph.D (Food Science and Technology) from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. She has previously worked as Guest lecturer in reputed colleges, freelancer food safety auditor and content writer and as Assistant Professor and HEAD in the Department of Food Technology, Doon (PG) College of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Her PhD research was based on the “Development of Beta-Glucan fortified spray dried instantized RTS milk beverage powder”. She currently lectures different subjects of Food Technology at the Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Her area of interest is food fortification, new product development, food quality & safety analysis, enrichment of traditional food products. She has published various papers in peer reviewed journals.

This study presents an approach to understand the feasibility of fortification of  Aegle maermelos juice in the traditional Indian product, i.e. Dahi. Five different ratios for the formulation was based on the parameters of sensory evaluation (color & appearance, body & texture, consistency, mouthfeel and overall acceptability). The formulations were-T₀ (100:0), T₁ (95:5), T₂ (90:10), T₃ (85:15) and T₄ (80:20) (buffalo milk: Aegle maermelos juice). One way ANOVA was used for the statistical analysis. After optimization, T₂ was found to score with highest OA. Further, storage study was conducted for 15 days for control and optimized samples, based on the parameters of physico-chemical, antioxidant and sensory properties. T₂ was found to be more acceptable than the control sample.

Peter Leighton is the CEO of ProSperity Bioscience, and founding partner of Abunda Functional Foods, an integrated consulting group. Leighton brings 30+ years’ experience in consumer products, nutraceuticals and biotechnology. Responsible for some of the most successful brands on the market, Leighton has been a thought leader in the areas of functional foods and science-based nutraceuticals. Leighton has held senior executive positions with Complete Nutrition, Advana Science, Natrol (NTOL), Galileo Laboratories, Metabolife, and Weider Nutrition (WNI).

The first generation of probiotic products are based on general strain selection for gut and immune health. Emerging sequencing technologies have identified novel probiotic strains and clinical data is mounting on the unique and specific functional application of these strains. Specifically, new probiotic strains are proving themselves viable for cholesterol, anxiety, weight management, fatigue, and a host of other health conditions. Mr. Leighton will explore how these functionally targeted probiotics can be applied into consumer nutrition products for optimizing wellness.

Dr. Meena Somanchi is a nutritionist with extensive experience in nutrition research, teaching and dietetics. She worked in prestigious institutions such as Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Federal government and VA hospital. She also runs a private practice in nutrition counseling in Maryland. Dr. Somanchi has given lectures on nutrition and health at health fairs, senior centers, Doctor’s offices and community centers in Maryland. She has presented her research work at scientific conferences in USA and abroad. Dr.Somanchi has published various papers in peer reviewed journals. She received The Young Scientists Award for Experimental Nutrition from the Nutrition Society of India, She was nominated for the VARS-Rhode lecture award for the work she did at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine at the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN).

The World Health Organization has predicted that cardiovascular diseases (CVD) will be the leading cause of death in the world by the year 2030. People with abnormal blood lipid profiles are at higher risk of getting cardiovascular diseases compared to those who have normal blood lipid profiles. Human and animal studies conducted over the years provide evidence that suggests that probiotics/prebiotics, can positively alter an individual's serum lipid profile, thereby lowering risk of developing CVD. Dietary Prebiotics are nondigestible fiber that pass undigested through the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract . They have specific fermentative properties, and stimulate the growth of specific bacteria associated with health and well-being. Probiotics are live microbes that beneficially affect the host animals by improving its intestinal microbial balances. This abstract focuses on evaluating the role of prebiotics and probiotics as potential dietary adjuncts in lowering cholesterol levels, and improving serum lipid profiles with the aim of reducing the risks of cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Nur A Hasan is a Molecular Microbiologist with over 15 years of experiences in microbial genomics, microbiome, bioinformatics and molecular ecology. Dr. Hasan is the President and Chief Executive Officer of EzBiome Inc. Dr. Hasan received his Bachelor and Master’s in Microbiology, M.B.A in Marketing and Ph.D. in Microbiology and Genomics. In his multidisciplinary research experience, Dr. Hasan worked on various independent research projects in the field of infectious communicable diseases, established state-of-the-art NGS facilities and led numerous large-scale genomic, metagenomic and microbiome projects that resulted in over 80 peer-reviewed articles and over 100 abstracts and conference proceedings on the microbiome, biomarker discovery, microbial genomics, molecular ecology, and infectious disease diagnostics. Dr. Hasan taught numerous webinars and workshops on microbiome and bioinformatics and frequently presents his research in scientific conferences nationally and internationally. Currently, Dr. Hasan directs the strategic leadership and scientific functions of EzBiome Inc., a microbiome company which applies precision microbiome discovery platform to shorten the time for discovery and development of microbiota-based therapeutics and companion diagnostics for microbiome-related diseases. Dr. Hasan is also affiliated as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland College Park. Before joining EzBiome, Dr. Hasan was the Chief Scientific Officer at CosmosID Inc.

Probiotics have been known for their diverse health-promoting attributes for many years. Consequently, the consumption of probiotics has experienced a globally increasing trend as consumers are taking probiotics as dietary supplements to treat health complications, improve overall health conditions and as preventative measures against diseases. Many studies have shown their beneficial effects but there have also been some concerns over potential health risks, as the properties of probiotics are strain-specific and there is disease-specificity with regard to efficacy; however, the significance of this fact is often ignored. One of the key elements in this matter is “identification technologies in probiotics”. Accurate evaluation and reliable identification of probiotic bacteria are critical for probiotic industry to present their products to the consumers with reliability and confidence. Available conventional identification techniques are not suitable for strain-level identification and even for species-level identification if they are closely related organisms. To this end, we introduce GRIIS (Genome Report for Industrially important Strains), a premium genome analysis service for probiotics. GRIIS offers world-class sample-to-report and certification services on probiotic strain identification and characterization, safety assessment and certification and compositional screening for mixed strain probiotics. The GRIIS service provides strain level identification and functionality of the probiotic strains based on the full-length genome and the final product test confirms the presence, composition and quality of single or mixed strains contained in the product using a highly accurate genome sequence database. Our genome sequence database is a fully curated and quality-controlled genome sequence database containing the most important strains in industries and hospitals. This webinar will also cover the importance of the database with a specific focus on the challenges of using a non-curated database and how it might lead to false-positive results.

Vishal Singh is an Assistant Professor of Nutritional Physiology and Microbiome at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Singh’s ‘Nutrition and Microbiome’ lab aims to solve the health issues faced by consuming processed foods and the health implications of fortifying refined dietary fiber(s) in packaged foods. Specifically, his lab is currently focusing on harnessing the power of fermentable dietary fibers (FDFs) to correct gut microbiota dysbiosis, and addressing the following questions: (i) Is the fortification of refined FDFs in processed food ‘good’ for all humans? (ii) If not, which groups are likely to have adverse effects from the consumption of refined FDFs such as inulin? His recent work answered a longstanding puzzle of why patients with inflammatory bowel disease report poor tolerance to certain dietary fibers (Gut, 2019). The vision of his lab is to develop microbiome-informed dietary fiber interventions to improve gastrointestinal and metabolic health. Dr. Singh’s research is supported by Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

Continuous bidirectional interaction between commensal microbes and intestinal immune cells not only shapes the community structure and functionality of gut microbiota but also regulates the immunological tone of the host’s intestine. Decreased microbial diversity and limited metabolic activity, commonly known as dysbiosis, adversely impact the intestinal immune response and increases the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Prebiotic fibers, such as inulin, which primarily feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut, appear to be an attractive strategy to build a therapeutically beneficial gut microbiome. Inline, we theorize that soluble fibers (inulin and pectin), which are more accessible for microbial fermentation, may offer a pronounced gut protective effect than insoluble fiber (cellulose) in an experimental model of immune-hyperactivation induced IBD. To our surprise, the two structurally different dietary fibers, inulin, and pectin aggravate and attenuate, respectively, the chronic colitis caused by the loss of IL-10 function (Singh V. et al., Gut, 2019). Mechanistically, elevated cecal butyrate and increased abundance of proteobacteria, collectively, exacerbated the chronic colitis in inulin-fed mice in an NLRP3-dependent manner.
Further studies intended to understand the mechanisms by which dietary pectin attenuated intestinal inflammation revealed increased expression of the inflammasome component NLRC4 in colonic epithelial crypts derived from pectin-fed mice. Moreover, the colonic level of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra; aka anakinra), whose expression is partly regulated via NLRC4, was elevated in mice fed pectin. The lack of a pectin-mediated protective

Mr Krunal Dholiya obtained his MSc (Geology) from the Nirma University, India and he is doing his PhD (Biosciences) from the Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, India. He is previously worked for microbial fermentation industry and in academics he taught Applied Microbiology to BSc students. His PhD research was based on the application of competitive antagonism and antimicrobial compound produced by probiotics. Currently, he is Cofounder and R&D Scientist at Framtix Holding, Ab, Sweden. He has published various papers in peer reviewed journals and he has filed a patent on antimicrobial nanocomposite at EPO.

Cross-infection is one of the most frequent complications occurring in healthcare facilities. Through infected patients, hospital’s environmental surfaces become an important potential source for transmission of many pathogens, which may infect other (nosocomial infection), and conventional disinfectants utilized in cleaning methods show a various drawback, i.e., restricted temporary activity, quick re-defilement of treated surfaces, improvement of multidrug opposition by microorganisms, hazardous compounds. Thus, indicating the need for innovative, sustainable and eco-friendly strategies. The present study is aimed to evaluate the effect of novel cleaning aid based on the principle of biocontrol mechanism using Bacillus spp. under contamination control condition. The effect of microbial cleaning, Probiotic Cleaning Hygiene System (PCHS), in comparison to traditional cleaning, was evaluated for 14 days in a hospital room using Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as considered pathogens. Microbial cleaning resulted better (54% more effective) and long-lasting alternative to traditional cleaning.  Mechanism of effectiveness would be competitive antagonism though, was not known. This study demonstrates that microbial cleaning is a more effective and sustainable alternative to chemical cleaning. This solution deserves further deep studies.

Hariom Yadav, PhD, assistant professor of internal medicine in the section of molecular medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine. His research focuses on gut-brain axis contributing in the pathology of aging-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Yadav seeks to prevent or delay these conditions by modulating the gut microbiome and reducing low-grade inflammation. His lab is developing novel probiotics and dietary fibers to treat leaky gut, which contributes to low grade inflammation.
Leaky gut, where microbial ingredients such as lipopolysaccharides and antigens leak out from the gut and stimulate low-grade inflammation, is the target of much of Yadav’s research activity. Yadav and his team are working to on- (i) novel probiotics made from dead bacteria, (ii) drugs like metformin and (iii) have discovered a new kind of dietary fiber; that can reduce leaky gut. He is researching holistic delivery methods, where natural remedies such as probiotics/ prebiotics/ postbiotics/ synbiotics can be added to foods to benefit people’s health and hopes to develop their translational potential by initiating clinical studies. Another aspect of Yadav’s research is investigating the interactions of microbiome with the many types of cells present in the human gut. Those interactions impact signaling communication between the gut and the brain. With deeper understanding of that communication, Yadav believes that more targeted and
effective therapies can be developed for conditions when signaling is disrupted, such as obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. Yadav also studies various diets and how they impact the microbiome, potentially to the benefit of health. He is assessing how the Mediterranean diet and the ketogenic diet may impact Alzheimer’s disease. He is also involved with a clinical trial looking at how exercise, dietary restriction and drugs (metformin) change the microbiome and affect leaky gut. A technology developed in his lab is licensed for commercialization with Postbiotics Inc. Dr. Yadav have developed an state-of-art ‘Microbiome-Suite’ consisting microbiome sequencing, bioinformatics analyses, growth of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, fecal microbiota transplantation and housing of germ-free mice. These facilities are available for collaborations with intramural investigators and industrial partners. The overall goal of Dr. Yadav’s research program is to develop gut microbiome based markers and therapies to reduce aging-related disorders and improve health-span in older adults.

Increased inflammation associated with leaky gut is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality in older adults; however, successful preventive and therapeutic strategies are not available to ameliorate these conditions. In this study, we demonstrate that a human-origin Lactobacillus paracasei D3-5 strain (D3-5), even when dead, extended life span of C. elegans. In addition, feeding D3-5 to older mice (>79 weeks) prevented high fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic dysfunction and decreased leaky gut and inflammation, which were associated with improved physical and cognitive function. D3-5 feeding significantly increased mucin production and proportionately, the abundance of mucin-degrading bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila was also increased. Mechanistically, we show that the cell wall of D3-5 contains lipoteichoic acid (LTA), which enhanced mucin (Muc2) expression via TLR-2/p38-MAPK pathway, which in turn reduced age-related leaky gut and inflammation. This study indicates that the heat-killed D3-5 (postbiotics) and its LTA can prevent/treat age-related leaky gut and inflammation.

Biswadeep obtained his Ph.D. in Aedes vector biology and arbovirus transmission from India. His principal interests include developing molecular diagnostics, RDTs, genetics and genomics. He pursued his postdoctoral training in Mayo Clinic, USA on disease modelling using zebrafish. In addition, he developed single tube detection assay for influenza virus A, B and RSV from environmental samples. One of his work domain is on improving the sperm fertility and fecundity in zebrafish using engineered dietary nanoparticles. He has also developed specific novel assays to detect sperm morphological abnormalities in vitro. At present, he holds a tenuretrack Assistant Professor position at KIIT University, India and is also the InSciEd Out Coordinator Eastern India hub, along with Mayo Clinic. His work involves the development of RDTs for the detection of specific targets (pathogens, analytes, compounds).

Aquaculture development has been the focus huu88yin recent time owing to its huge contribution to food industry. The importance of aquaculture extends to providing food, employment, new health-care products, agricultural products, and many others. Since 1961, the annual worldwide growth of fish consumption has increased twice in comparison to population growth, indicating that the fisheries sector is crucial in meeting FAO’s goal for a world without hunger and malnutrition. However, traditional aquaculture practices are insufficient in meeting the needs of the ever-increasing human population. Nanotechnology is an upcoming strategy for boosting aquaculture production through the advent and application of novel nanoparticles, nanocomposites, and similar compounds. Because of their extraordinarily small size, nano-based feed supplements such as Nano-863, dietary selenium, zinc, and copper nanoparticles can be easily absorbed inside the cells and can thus enhance fish growth performance. Nanoparticles derived from chitosan, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), zinc oxide, and silica have been widely utilized for the development of effective nano-delivery agents for promoting fish health and in packaging industries for increasing the storage life of seafood. In addition, nano-emulsions comprising different immiscible liquids are now being used for the coating of surfaces and are upcoming strategies to protect the fishing equipment and other fish harvesting tools. Nevertheless, nanotechnology has also certain limitations of use in terms of toxicity,
environmental biodegradability, and others, which have been summarized in the present review,
in addition to the potential benefits in aquaculture production.

Dr. Norhafizah has the academic background in Microbiology (Manchester University), Bioreactor Systems (MSc-Manchester University) and Chemical Engineering (PhD- Cambridge University). Prior to lectureship at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (1998-present), she worked in few commercial laboratories (medical and industrial testing labs). The philosophy underlying her research activities is based on interdisciplinary approach via combining microbiology, biochemistry, chemistry with engineering disciplines for overall bioprocess economic improvement. This covers topics on production and, product design and formulation. Some of her  team's current research projects are product design for probiotic, separation chromatography, nano-encapsulation for control delivery of active biomaterials, application of biological techniques for waste treatment.

Durian is a seasonal fruit and known by the locals in Malaysia as the ‘King of all fruits’ due to its distinctive thorny spikes appearance and strong overpowering pungent flavour. The commercial market for durian has grown drastically in recent years with a value exceeding USD$2.9million by the year of 2020 and its market investment is projected to jump by 50 percent by the year 2030.  Durian fruit has short shelf life ranging from 2-3 days under  ambient room temperature for an intact fruit.   The durian flesh is usually eaten fresh for the best aroma and taste. When the durian flesh smells sour or has a sour taste, it is considered spoiled and usually thrown away as a waste. It is from this spoiled durian flesh where a fermented dish known as ‘tempoyak’ was made. Tempoyak is a traditional food from Malay culture, homemade by slow natural fermentation in which durian flesh is kept in a tight container for minimum of 7 days. Like many traditional fermented food, tempoyak has longer shelf life due to lactic acid bacteria which reportedly inhibits spoilage from food pathogen. Tempoyak is not classified as probiotic food due to the lack in scientific evidence. In this study, we investigated tempoyak from 9 states in Malaysia for their potential as functional probiotic food. Screening, isolation and characterization of microbiota strains from tempoyak were performed using similar method of  Haghshenas et al.(2016). Our results showed varieties of lactic acid strains with distinctive probiotic characteristics  of low pH and bile salt survivability, antimicrobial activity, antibiotic susceptibility and cholesterol assimilation activity. In short, lactobacillus strains isolated for tempoyak showed a potential to be used for in various functional food application with a probiotic functionality.

Reference:

Haghshenas, B., Haghshenas M., Nami, Y., Khosroushahi, A. Y., Abdullah, N, Barzegari. A., Rosli, R., Hejazi, M. S. (2016), Probiotic assessment of Lactobacillus plantarum 15HN and Enterococcus mundtii 50H isolated from traditional dairies microbiota,  Adv. Pharm. Bulletin, 6(1), 37.

Angelito Ortega Abaoag is a molecular microbiologist and specializes on microbiome modulation. He is currently a Senior Scientist in Microbiome Lifesciences Pte Ltd, SINGAPORE. He has more than 30 years of experience in microbial community studies, bioproduct formulations, mixed-culture fermentation, molecular-based testing and biosystems design.

The modulation of the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs has a direct effect on enzymatic function, microbiome, growth and health of the animal. The study determines the direct effect of a formulated fermented feeds with a define composition of acetic acid bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, enterobacteria, bacteroides and yeast in the modulation of microbial population in the jejunum, ileum, cecum, duodenum and feces of Landrace-Yorkshire-Duroc breed pigs. Enzymatic function was monitored and correlated with growth rate of pigs from weaning to maturity. Key pig microbiota genus, belonging to Bacteroides, Clostridium, Prevotella, Roseburia and Escherichia sp. was monitored and correlated with growth. Addition of fermented feeds at key junction of the growth stage modulates relative abundance of these key bacterial genus to ensure the desired composition related to increase average daily weight gain (AWG). Overall AWG for pigs supplemented with fermented feeds show an increase of 35-42%. Maintenance of increased level of AWG is also correlated with expression of key metabolic genes. The implication of a mechanism to modulate gastrointestinal microbiota of pigs will have impact on overall productivity for the animal industry.

Mr. Mauricio Agudelo is a Chemical Engineer from the University of Antioquia. He previuosly worked in Colanta (one of the biggest animal feed industries in Colombia) where he decided to aim his professional efforts in animal nutrition. He founded two start-ups both oriented in producing sustainable ways for food and feed. He is coinventor of two patents. His areas of interest are eubiotics, metagenomics, artificial intelligence and animal nutrition.

This study was performed to determine a way of producing highly profitable antibiotic-free piglets. The zootechnical effect in piglets of the use of microencapsulated probiotic feed additives was evaluated through comparative statistical analysis with the effect of antibiotic additives. A predictive analysis to maximize productive and financial performance and to evaluate the cost-efficient replacement of antibiotic additives by encapsulated probiotic feed additives was performed using zootechnical data, Montecarlo simulations and machine learning algorithms (ML) finding significant differences (p <0,01) of feed conversion between the diets; and, probabilities of up to 75% of achieving feed conversion ratio (FCR) below 1.5 with diet D1 (FF Weaning Piglets) and a weaning weight between 4 and 6 kg. The costs of producing 1 kg of meat with the different treatments produced scenarios with average savings of up to 25% when using diet D1 compared to treatment with antibiotics (diet D3). Feaces sample DNA sequencing tests were performed to characterize the gut microbiome. One of the (D2) probiotic diets had greater bacterial diversity (p <0.05) compared to diet D4 (Basal), in the same diet (D2, FF Fatting) a greater bacterial richness (p <0.05) was observed in comparison with the other diets, while the diet with antibiotics (D3) had a greater probability (66.6%) of reducing bacterial diversity compared to the others. The genetic material of the bacteria used in the probiotic additives was detected in the analyzes of microbiome showing encapsulation efficiency. The microbiomes were grouped by diet and by conversions, finding differential bacterial taxa (178) and a diet with predominant probiotics as the conversion improved (D1).