Just as probiotics have gone beyond the digestive barrier and into immune and inflammatory health, the product format expansion has included probiotics for oral and skin health.
Probiotics inhabit the intestines, competing with bad bacteria for receptor sites. As more good bacteria adhere to the receptors, bad bacteria have less room, resulting in better gastrointestinal (GI) health, generally. However, emerging research is suggests probiotics, especially lactic acid bacteria (LAB), affect many other types of cells and chemicals in the body including bile, carcinogens and white blood (immune system) cells. But probiotics in skin care act a bit differently than they do in the gut. According to Natasha Trenev, president and founder of Natren, FDA does not generally allow for the presence of any living microprobes in a skin care preparation. “The manufacturer must obtain clearance from the FDA before a level of living microorganisms would be allowed in a skin cream," she noted, adding Natren markets a face mask kit that contains a live probiotic bacterial freeze-dried culture that is mixed with a clear Aloe vera gel before application.
Muneaki Takahata, Ph.D., a microbiologist working in Japan with Iichiroh Ohhira, Ph.D., founder of Dr. Ohhira’s brand probiotics, noted “living" lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are not present in Dr. Ohhira’s skincare product line. “A variety of plants, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables are fermented using 12 strains of LAB for three years," he explained, noting the resulting fermented medium is called a “fermented extract" in Japan. “It is this ‘fermented extract’ (which contains probiotics, prebiotics, organic acids, bacteriocins, enzymes, and vitamin, mineral and amino acids by-products) that is blended into Dr. Ohhira’s skincare products." He clarified LAB are present in the “fermented extract" stage, but heat during the subsequent product processing kills off most of the LAB. “However, as research from the University of California, San Diego (in cooperation with an Israel counter-part university), has established, dead carcasses of LAB are beneficial to the human body, and in Dr. Ohhira’s skincare products, the dead carcasses are used to stimulate the skin’s immune system."
From mouthwash to mints, many companies are launching probiotic products that address consumers’ personal care needs. Oragenics developed a probiotic mint (EvoraPlus®) to fight dental decay and bad breath; the product features the company’s Probiora3 branded probiotic blend—Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis KJ3™), Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis KJ2™) and Streptococcus rattus (S. rattus JH145™). Nutraceutix also developed a probiotic mint for oral health benefits, and several companies have brought probiotic gum to the marketplace.
With new product and ingredient introduction, it’s important for consumers to not only make the link between digestion and probiotics, but to link oral and skin health with probiotics.