15 Feb 2010 --- Lallemand Health Ingredients (LHI) and Institut Rosell-Lallemand (IR-L) announced the launch of Cysbiotic, a unique women’s health dietary supplement that combines live probiotic bacteria to a natural PAC-rich cranberry powder, to create a room-stable capsule formula. This technological break-through is the fruit of a long-term cooperation between probiotic expert Institut Rosell-Lallemand and leading cranberry producer Decas Botanical Synergies (DBS). Cysbiotic is commercialised by Lallemand which has exclusive license covering all countries. Several launches of products containing Cysbiotic are forecasted in Europe before the summer through exclusive agreements with pharmaceutical companies.

Building on their combined expertise of cranberry and probiotics, the research teams of DBS and IR-L have succeeded in overcoming the technological challenge of preserving probiotic viability in presence of cranberry, to develop a unique product. Cysbiotic combines Institut Rosell’s well-documented Lactobacillus rhamnosus Rosell-11 with Premium PAC standardised Whole Cranberry Powder from DBS – PACran, in a single capsule.

Nadine Renard, Technical Manager for Lallemand explains: “it has been a great challenge to find a formula that could guarantee probiotics viability in presence of cranberry powder. The later would normally kill live bacteria in the course of 2-3 months. It is only thanks to Lallemand’s expertise of live microorganisms and unique technology that we have managed to develop a product that is stable at room temperature for up to two years.”

Nicolai Jensen General Manager of Lallemand Health Ingredients remarks: “At Lallemand, we are excited by the market possibilities presented by this new all-in-one delivery system. By combining our expertise in the probiotic and cranberry UTI segments, we are proud to see this collaboration bear fruit!”

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is the most common infection among women and has a high reoccurrence rate. Its main causative agent is E. Coli bacteria. Foxman et al. have shown that nearly 1 in 3 women will have had at least one episode of UTI requiring antimicrobial therapy before they reach 24 years of age. Another study estimates that nearly half of the women who have had a UTI will experience another one within 12 months (Ikäheimo et al. 1996). UTIs are traditionally treated with antibiotics but scientists believe that antibiotic treatments can disrupt the natural occurrence of beneficial bacteria in the body, leading to higher recurrence of UTI. Furthermore, repeated antibiotic treatments can give rise to antibiotic-resistant strains of harmful bacteria.

Cranberries are widely documented for their preventive effect against urinary tract infection, thanks to their unique anti-adhesion activity. This activity is primarily due to the presence of key phytochemicals: proanthocyanidines (PACs). PACs are present in other plants, but cranberry have been shown to contain a unique A-type PAC, while most other fruits contain only the more common B-type PACs. Researchers have linked the presence of A-type PAC in cranberry to its unique anti-adherence effect against pathogenic bacteria.

Cysbiotic contains PACran, made with PAC-rich Early Black cranberries and standardised to a minimum 1.5% PACs, measured via the HPLC analytical method. Its potential to support urinary tract health has been demonstrated in a double-blind, randomised clinical study in 2006. The daily consumption of 500 mg of PACran was able to significantly reduce the presence of uropathogenic E. coli in patients. These results were supported by a recent study performed at Rutgers University (New Jersey) on healthy individuals, showing that the consumption of 500 mg PACran conferred the same level of ex vivo urinary anti-adhesion activity against uropathogenic E. coli over a 24-hour period as 300 ml of Cranberry Juice Cocktail.

It has been shown that the oral administration of probiotic bacteria, mainly Lactobacilli, can balance the gut and the vagina lactobacilli microflora, both acting as natural barriers to protect the urinary tract from uropathogens.

This naturally occurring Lactobacilli flora in the gut helps prevent colonisation by pathogenic bacteria, including E. coli. Moreover, Lactobacilli represent an estimated 83% of the normal vaginal microflora which protects the vaginal environment from the development of harmful bacteria and forms a barrier to bladder entry by uropathogens.

The well documented strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus Rosell-11 has been selected for the Cysbiotic formulation. It shows good resistance to gastric acidity and bile and has the ability to bind to intestinal cell lines. It is already present in Institut Rosell’s finished product clinically documented against bacterial vaginosis, currently sold under the brand name Fermalac Vaginal.

By combining PACran to Lactobacillus rhamnosus Rosell-11 probiotic strain, Cysbiotic could help support urinary tract health through a dual action: Cranberries’ PACs hinder the uropathogens adhesion to the urinary tract, while the beneficial bacteria could help restore the gut and vaginal protective microflora as well as limit the risks of pathogens development, leading to better urinary tract health.

Cysbiotic is offered in a capsule form containing 250 mg PACran and 0.5 billion L. rhamnosus Rosell-11. Two capsules per day will deliver the recommended daily amount of PACran and one billion probiotic bacteria. Its shelf-life is supported by stability data for 24 months at room temperature, under normal conditions (25°C and 40 % HR).