Clinical Study Confirms Beneficial Effects of NutriLeads’ Benicaros on Gut Microbiota Health

This innovative, low-dose (300 mg) precision prebiotic increases the abundance of beneficial bacteria essential for a stable and healthy gut ecosystem

New clinical data confirms prior research demonstrating the effectiveness of Benicaros®, the precision prebiotic from NutriLeads BV, in consistently promoting a healthy gut microbiota. Published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, the research shows that daily servings as low as 300 mg. of Benicaros promote growth of beneficial gut bacteria in healthy subjects.

Benicaros is a soluble prebiotic carrot fiber known as Rhamnogalacturonan-I or cRG-I. Clinical results show Benicaros increased the relative abundance of common beneficial bacteria, including Bifidobacterium spp. (mainly B. adolescentis and B. longum), independent of varying baseline gut microbiota compositions.

“Benicaros consistently and predictably modulates the composition of the gut microbiota, despite the natural differences between individual gut microbiomes,” said Joana Carneiro, Ph.D., NutriLeads Chief Executive Officer. “The complex molecular structure of this prebiotic fiber selectively nourishes beneficial bacteria prevalent in most people. Remarkably, these beneficial effects were evident with daily servings of Benicaros as low as 300 mg.”

This research paper marks the third publication resulting from a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study of 146 healthy human subjects. In the study, subjects were randomized across three groups: a placebo group, a low dose of Benicaros (300 mg) group or a high dose of Benicaros (1500 mg) group. Participants consumed their assigned dietary supplement every day for eight weeks on top of their regular diet habits. The earlier publications based on this study described how Benicaros accelerated immune responses in subjects who were challenged with a common cold virus after eight weeks of supplementation and significantly reduced the severity and duration of symptoms, while helping maintain quality of life. This new publication describes the effects of eight-week supplementation on the gut microbiota. Both the immune and gut health benefits were dose dependent.

“The increase in abundance of other beneficial bacterial species known for their short chain fatty acid production indicates that Benicaros increases the metabolic capacity of the gut microbiota,” said Willem M. de Vos, Ph.D., Professor of Human Microbiome at the University of Helsinki and Emeritus Distinguished Professor at Wageningen University and co-author of the study. “This suggests that Benicaros contributes to a healthy gut environment thereby supporting overall health.”

NutriLeads’ team will be available at the upcoming Vitafoods Europe, booth M270, to discuss this new research.

Details about the study are available in the full paper, “The impact of daily supplementation with rhamnogalacturonan-I on the gut microbiota in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial.” [Jian et al, Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 2024.]