Liquid Probiotic Composition for Persistent SCFA Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Probiotic supplements often fail to deliver bacteria to the small intestine in a viable state due to the challenging environment of the human digestive tract, leading to transient effects on gut health and inability to influence established gut microbiota, and current treatments for Parkinson's Disease have limited efficacy with significant side effects.
Innovation Solution
Administration of a liquid, non-dairy probiotic composition comprising a population of lactic acid bacteria, such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Enterococcus faecium, which colonize and proliferate in the gut mucosal and luminal environment, rebalancing the gut microbiota and promoting SCFA production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If probiotic supplements are administered orally, then bacteria are introduced to the gut, but they fail to deliver viable bacteria to the small intestine due to the challenging digestive environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a live attenuated virus as an intermediary carrier that protects probiotic bacteria from the hostile digestive environment. The virus particle serves as a protective vehicle that delivers viable bacteria to the small intestine while shielding them from stomach acid and digestive enzymes, thereby resolving the contradiction between introducing probiotics and maintaining their viability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and protective parameters of the probiotic delivery system by encapsulating bacteria within a viral envelope. This transformation allows the bacteria to withstand harsh digestive conditions that would normally kill them, enabling successful delivery to the target location in the gastrointestinal tract.
2Duration of action of moving object
If probiotic bacteria survive transit through the digestive tract, then they reach the gut lumen, but they remain only in the luminal compartment for a short period rather than colonizing the gut mucosal compartment
Solution Approach 1:
The live attenuated virus acts as a mediator that facilitates bacterial penetration through the mucus layer and attachment to the gut mucosa. The viral carrier system enables bacteria to transition from transient luminal presence to sustained mucosal colonization, significantly extending their residence time and improving colonization reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the passive mechanical transit of bacteria through the digestive tract with an active viral-mediated delivery system. This substitution enables targeted delivery to the mucosal compartment, allowing bacteria to establish persistent residence and colonize the gut lining rather than simply passing through.
3Productivity
If probiotic bacteria do not colonize the gut microbiota, then they avoid competition, but they fail to influence established gut microbiota and show only transient effects
Solution Approach 1:
The viral carrier serves as an intermediary that facilitates interaction between probiotic bacteria and established gut microbiota. By delivering bacteria to the mucosal compartment where they can directly contact and influence the microbiota, the virus enables sustained metabolic interactions and community modulation, producing long-term health effects rather than transient changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the passive coexistence of probiotics with the established microbiota with an active viral-mediated interaction system. This substitution enables the probiotics to actively influence microbiota composition and function through direct contact at the mucosal interface, resulting in持久 (long-lasting) effects on gut health.
4Reliability
If current pharmacological therapies are used for Parkinson's Disease, then treatment is provided, but significant side effects occur and efficacy is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the gut microbiota as an intermediary system to produce neuroprotective and neuroactive compounds that benefit Parkinson's Disease patients. Instead of directly treating the brain with pharmacological agents, the probiotics act as intermediaries that modulate gut-derived neural signals and inflammatory pathways, achieving treatment effects with fewer side effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes direct pharmacological brain treatment with a gut-based biological treatment system. By using probiotic bacteria to produce neuroactive substances that act through the gut-brain axis, the system replaces conventional neuropharmacology with a biological approach that targets the underlying pathophysiology with fewer adverse effects.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The probiotic composition effectively rebalances the gut microbiota, leading to persistent improvements in gut health and symptom relief for Parkinson's Disease by increasing SCFA production and modulating bacterial taxa, thereby addressing dysbiosis and improving overall wellbeing.
Implementation Method 1
SCFA production typically results from carbohydrate metabolism in the colon. The most abundantly produced SCFAs are acetate, propionate and butyrate.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to methods for promoting SCFA production by gut microbiota by administering a liquid, water-based probiotic composition. The methods are particularly effective at promoting gut health. The invention further relates to methods of promoting intestinal barrier integrity, methods of promoting a tolerogenic gut phenotype, and methods of treating Parkinson's Disease.