Since its licensing agreement with Probiotical, S.p.A., Novara, Italy, in 2009, Pharmachem Laboratories, Inc. has been able to introduce Microbac microencapsulated probiotics into a growing variety of products in virtually every channel of trade, as well as international markets, according to Gregory Bonfilio, business development manager at Pharmachem.
 
“The future of probiotics is in delivery forms,” said Mr.  Bonfilio. “Microbac effectively protects the bacteria in a complex formulation from other ingredients that might previously have destroyed the strains. This technology enables us to experiment with a much larger number of delivery forms than we were previously able to imagine, including chocolates, sprinkles, chewable tablets and instant beverages.”
 
Mr. Bonfilio said that microencapsulation protects strains during manufacturing of finished products, resulting in lower overages needed, reducing costs and increasing shelf life. Microencapsulation also protects probiotic strains in the presence of other nutritional actives.
 
“As a result of Probiotical’s work with encapsulated strains, flow cytometry enumeration methods have been developed and validated. This rapid and sensitive medical technology allows us to reliably distinguish between live, dead and injured bacteria….even in a mixed population of bacteria types. We believe this new technology will greatly increase the speed and accuracy of testing probiotic organisms,” Mr. Bonfilio said. “Flow cytometry may solve problems faced by the entire probiotic industry, because standard plating of probiotic strains often prevents an accurate, repeatable count of bacteria in multi-ingredient products.”
 
Pharmachem is sponsoring a Vendor Brief seminar, “Encapsulated Probiotics: Increase Shelf Life and Bioactivity, Reduce Costs, “ by Dr. Ralf Jäger, FISSN, CISSN, MBA, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 3:00 p.m. to 3:50 p.m., show floor booth #201 at SupplySide West in Las Vegas, NV.
 
Dr. Jäger will discuss the Microbac technology, which not only increases shelf-life of probiotic products, but also increases the survival through the gastro intestinal tract, allowing five times less strains to be used. In addition, Dr. Jäger will present new clinical data, describing the use of probiotics beyond the classic immune and GI health applications, which will broaden the consumer base and create new and exciting sales opportunities.
 
Pharmachem has the exclusive distribution rights in North American markets for the entire line of probiotic products with supporting technologies and clinical studies from Probiotical.  The agreement includes sales of probiotic strains as well as proprietary formulations for the dietary supplement, nutraceutical, functional food and beverage industries. The agreement also calls for the two companies to collaborate on the development, manufacture and marketing of innovative probiotic products in advanced delivery forms throughout North America.
 
For more information: www.pharmachemlabs.com