Co-Biotics - Dual Modulation of the Host and the Microbiota

Current health interventions, including dietary supplements, deliver bioactive compounds and ingredients to target various areas of human welfare, such as support for brain health, metabolic effects, energy function, and women's health. Gut wellbeing, including those that target the gut microbiome, is categorized as a separate domain. However, research has highlighted that the gut microbiome is a metabolically active organ, deeply interconnected in almost all areas of host health, not an isolated target. Thus, there is a need for solutions to intentionally design dual-targeting of both host cells and the gut microbiome, allowing for enhanced function and long-term effects. Based on this gap, we propose a new category within biotic solutions, termed co-biotics. Co-biotics is therefore “a substrate comprising of bioactive molecular compounds that, when delivered to permit both host metabolism and microbial accessibility, simultaneously modulate biological processes in both the host and its resident microbiota, to confer targeted health benefits". This paper will outline examples, as well as delivery requirements for co-biotic ingredients, which collectively allow for framing of these next-generation host-microbiome health solutions.