The Human Microbiome Project

The Human microbiome project (HMP) is a National Institutes of Health initiative with the goal of identifying and characterizing the microorganisms which are found in association with both healthy and diseased humans (their microbial flora). It is a five-year project, best characterized as a feasibility study, and has a total budget of 115 million dollars. The ultimate goal of this and similar NIH-sponsored microbiome projects is to test if changes in the human microbiome are associated with human health or disease. This topic is currently not well-understood.
Important components of the Human microbiome project will be culturing-independent methods of microbial community characterization, such as metagenomics (which provides a broad genetic perspective on a single microbial community), as well as extensive whole-genome sequencing (which provides a “deep” genetic perspective on certain aspects of a given microbial community, i.e., of individual bacterial species). The latter will serve as reference genomic sequences — 600 such sequences of individual bacterial isolates are currently planned — for comparison purposes during subsequent metagenomic analysis. The microbiology of five body sites will be emphasized: oral, skin, vaginal, gut, and nasal/lung.
[edit]Context and importance of HMP

Total microbial cells found in association with humans may exceed the total number of cells making up the human body by a factor of ten-to-one. The total number of genes associated with the human microbiome could exceed the total number of human genes by a factor of 100-to-one. Many of these organisms have not been successfully cultured, identified, or otherwise characterized. Organisms expected to be found in the human microbiome, however, may generally be categorized as bacteria (the majority), members of domain Archaea, yeasts, and single-celled eukaryotes as well as various helminth parasites and viruses, the latter including viruses that infect the cellular microbiome organisms (e.g., bacteriophages, the viruses of bacteria).
“The HMP will address some of the most inspiring, vexing and fundamental scientific questions today. Importantly, it also has the potential to break down the artificial barriers between medical microbiology and environmental microbiology. It is hoped that the HMP will not only identify new ways to determine health and predisposition to diseases but also define the parameters needed to design, implement and monitor strategies for intentionally manipulating the human microbiota, to optimize its performance in the context of an individual’s physiology.”[1]
The HMP has been described as “a logical conceptual and experimental extension of the Human Genome Project”[2]. In 2007 the Human microbiome project was listed on the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research as one of the New Pathways to Discovery. Organized characterization of the human microbiome is also being done internationally under the auspices of the International Human Microbiome Consortium.

October Analysts Briefing on Probiotic Market

Wilmington, DE, October 02, 2009 –(PR.com)– The food and beverage practice at MarketsandMarkets is pleased to announce its Analyst Briefing Presentation on the Global Probiotic market to be held on 6th Oct 2009.

Probiotics market has been one of the prime beneficiaries of the recent fad over functional foods. Rising levels of health consciousness and ageing baby boomer population are a few of the drivers helping in the growth of the market. The other major market factor driving the overall probiotics market in the present and expected to continue to do so in the future is the influence exerted by the women buyer segment. It is generally observed through out the globe that traditionally women are responsible for the buying decisions in the foods and beverages (F&B) category in families. Since they tend to be more aware about the new products and their health benefits, they try and incorporate more beneficial foods in the families’ diet. Hence it is no surprise that women have more knowledge about probiotic F&B and consequently not only drive their consumption but also act as the opinion makers. This gathers more importance considering the fact that probiotic F&B segment is expected to command over 75% of the overall probiotics market in 2009. The global probiotics market is expected to be worth US$ 32.6 billion by 2014, growing at a CAGR of 12.6% from 2009 to 2014. Europe and Asia are expected to account for nearly 42% and 30% of the total revenues respectively in 2014. Probiotic dairy products are expected to command the highest market share among all the probiotic foodstuffs accounting for almost 70% in the year 2009 and reach a market size of almost $24 billion by the end of 2014. The biggest markets for these products are again Europe and Asia; the U.S. market has slowly but surely opened up to these products in the recent past and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17% from 2009 to 2014, the biggest contributor being probiotic cultured drinks followed by probiotic yogurts. Though the market base of probiotic products is comparatively lesser in the U.S., the market is expected to grow at an astounding rate of almost 14% in the same period driven by the large scale acceptance of – the probiotic yogurts in spoonable single serve packs, probiotic cultured drinks in single shot packaging form and probiotic dietary supplements.

The briefing on the Global Probiotics Market (2009-2014) will benefit Probiotics suppliers, Probiotics product manufacturers, Commercial research laboratories, Dairy product manufacturers, Confectionary product manufacturers, Health supplement manufacturers, Animal/poultry feed producers and Biotechnology companies.

“The early movers in the industry will benefit in terms of market share but it is important that they focus on innovating probiotic strains that are more efficient in terms of survivability in harsh conditions and stability and are supported by competitively-priced production technologies. Extensive research is required to develop cost-efficient manufacturing processes for probiotics, the companies aiming to make a major impact in this market therefore needs to make extensive R&D investments” notes MarketsandMarkets. “In addition, garnering faith of the consumers by making substantiated and legitimate assertions in terms of health benefits will profit the market in future.”

Note: An email containing the Login Details and Time of the Analyst Briefing will be sent to you soon after your successful registration.

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Intersting Artilcle in the NYT

Stuart Bradford

Probiotics- What are they and do I need them

If you have not heard of probiotics by now you will by the end of the year.  Procter and Gamble announced that they will be spending over $30M in advertising on their new product Align with Bifantis for the remainer of 2009.  In addition Bayer is spending over $15M on their Phillips Colon Health Product.  So if you have not heard of probiotics my guess is that you will very soon.

What is a probiotic

So what is a probiotic , well the definition is “for health” and simply put Probiotics are dietary supplements of live microorganisms thought to be healthy for the host organism.

Probiotics refer to beneficial bacterial, such as found in healthy, fermented foods. Probiotic supplements are important to restore these bacteria to the human digestive tract if they have been depleted due to chemicals, drugs, stress, low stomach acid, a lack of raw fermented foods in the diet,  or other reasons.

According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: “Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria are the most common types of microbes used as probiotics; but also certain yeasts and bacilli are available.

Yes they are live cells or bacteria that can help keep your digestive system in peak health, they help with the intestinal flora in keeping the bad bacteria in check.

Whats the Deal with the crazy measurements in Billions

Probiotic potency is stated in terms of “number of viable bacteria” in relation to some unit of measure such as grams, capsule, tablet, or volume (e.g., teaspoon).  A common measure is “cfu/g”, or “colony-forming units per gram”.  By knowing how many grams of the freeze-dried bacteria are in a capsule, tablet, or other serving type, the number of living probiotic bacteria can then be calculated.

So What are they good for?

• It appears that when the digestive system is kept healthy, other body systems greatly benefit as well. Probiotics may:
• Protect against infection
• Enhance and boost the immune system
• Promote and improve digestive health
• Alleviate diarrhea caused by antibiotic treatments
• Promote urinary and genital health
• Assist in the management of inflammation
• Help alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance
• Improve some types of eczema in infants and children
• Reduce cholesterol levels
• Decrease the risk of certain cancers