The Global Prebiotic Association (GPA), redefines key concepts surrounding prebiotics, reflecting the latest research in gut biology and metagenomics. GPA aims to clarify their health benefits, mechanisms, and applications, while providing an updated framework for industry standards and evidence-based practices.
Highlights
- GPA presents two updated definitions for prebiotics and prebiotic effect, integrating recent advancements in gut biology, metagenomics, and prebiotic research.
- Changes include moving away from selectivity and introducing prebiotic effect and performance benefit.
- GPA is developing Standards of Evidence to determine established, novel, and emerging prebiotics.
Nov., 2024 / The Global Prebiotic Association (GPA), a non-profit raising awareness of the benefits of prebiotics, announces the publication of its perspective paper aimed at revisiting the concepts of prebiotics and prebiotic effect. The new paper, published in Advances in Nutrition, provides a science-based industry perspective, advancing the prebiotics category and on-going dialogue within the field.
A clear grasp of prebiotics, including their definition, health benefits, and mechanisms of action is fundamental for understanding prebiotic use and benefit. GPA acknowledges the foundational contributions of organizations like the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in establishing early definitions of prebiotics. Building on this, GPA led literature reviews and facilitated discussions among experts within its membership to propose definition updates. As a result, GPA now presents two updated definitions, for prebiotics and prebiotic effect that integrate recent advancements in gut biology, metagenomics, and prebiotic research.
The primary changes to the prebiotic definition include moving away from the concept of selectivity and introducing two new aspects: prebiotic effect and performance benefit. In collaboration with its membership, GPA is developing Standards of Evidence to determine established, novel, and emerging prebiotics, a tool to be used to assess ingredients or products and as a resource for technical papers and programs like SGS Nutrasource’s NutraStrong™ Prebiotic Verified standard that validates the quality and efficacy of prebiotic ingredients.
GPA’s updated definition encompasses new prebiotic ingredients (e.g., non-carbohydrates), various formulations (e.g., topical), and non-gastrointestinal microbiomes (e.g., skin, urogenital, etc.) for both human and animal applications. These updates will uphold scientific validity and rigor for the prebiotic definition, reducing ambiguity and ensuring clarity and utility for the scientific community, industry, regulators, healthcare providers, and consumers.
“The GPA’s mission is to steward responsible growth of the prebiotic category globally. It is also to recognize established and emerging benefits, and the prebiotic definition, as well as the discussion of prebiotic effect represents a huge milestone for us as an organization,” stated Len Monheit, Executive Director at GPA.
“While prebiotics can be leveraged to promote health, a lot of confusion remains among consumers and other stakeholders around the term prebiotic and what exactly is a prebiotic effect. This position paper is a significant achievement for the prebiotic category and GPA, as it provides a sound regulatory and scientific perspective that will help bring clarity to and advance the category,” said Edward Deehan, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Santa Al Antwan, Regulatory Affairs Associate at SGS Nutrasource and co-author of the paper, said: “The value of this paper lies in its presentation of insights from key stakeholders – prebiotic industry professionals and scientists – who frequently engage with the public and recognize the importance of clear, precise terminology in definitions.”
About GPA
The Global Prebiotic Association (GPA) is the global non-for-profit information and industry hub within the prebiotic science realm stewarding the prebiotic category by increasing awareness and understanding of science supporting well-known and newfound benefits of prebiotics. GPA is comprised of over 40 global ingredient manufacturers, brand holders, retailers, and companies with expertise in prebiotic scientific innovation, substantiation, regulation, and marketing.
About SGS Nutrasource
SGS Nutrasource is a leading nutraceutical and pharmaceutical life sciences company that brings together the strategy, expertise, and services required to help clients commercialize health and wellness products with strong science and regulatory confidence. The unique offering of clinical trial management, strategic and regulatory consulting services along with a state-of-the-art clinical trial site has been developed with one goal in mind –success in the global marketplace.
For the online publication, visit https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2161831324001637
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