21 Aug 2024 — Biosciences company Ummino has achieved self-affirmed generally accepted as safe (GRAS) status for its lactosamine compound product, Hummino. The bio-identical prebiotic’s bioactive restores balance in the adult microbiome, enhancing gut barrier function.
The product reduces intestinal permeability, known as leaky gut, boosting gut and immune health. “This breakthrough helps to nourish the keystone bacteria in our gut vital to overall health and wellness,” says Charles Dykes, CEO of Ummino.
“By liberating this compound from mother’s milk and making it available in a product, our nutrition partners can scientifically claim true gut health benefits. We’re collaborating with the world’s largest food and specialty nutrition companies to introduce our prebiotic into everyday products, improving the health and well-being of people globally.”
Advancing microbiome research
Hummino is a humanized oligosaccharide composition containing lactosamine in the form of LacNAc, a nitrogen-rich dietary fiber that is a functional building block of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs).
This composition selectively promotes keystone bacterial strains fundamental to microbiome health. Ummino aims to create products such as Hummino that are accessible and address the onset of unhealthy aging from microbiome decline.
Ummino uses a patented precision fermentation process, which allows the efficient and scalable generation of prebiotic dietary fibers and HMOs. The technology can reduce production costs, making it feasible to include HMOs in staple functional foods and beverages.
Industry developments
Earlier this year, researchers successfully produced HMOs from genetically engineered plants. They reprogrammed the plants’ processes to create sugar to produce a range of HMOs, which “provides a path to the large-scale production of specific HMOs at lower prices than microbial production platforms.”
Meanwhile, health and nutrition player dsm-firmenich was granted EU market access for its novel 3-fucosyllactose (3-FL) HMO ingredient. This development comes after the European Commission approved 3-FL as a novel food ingredient, following a successful application submitted by Glycom.
The use of HMOs as an ingredient in baby and toddler products is seeing a remarkable increase. From 2018 to 2022, global HMO-containing launches had an annual compound growth rate of 93%. The majority of these launches in 2022 consisted of baby formula and milk.
In addition, the HMO science team at Chr. Hansen (now part of Novonesis) revealed the results of a comprehensive review of 26 clinical studies, which provides compelling evidence on the safety, toleration and positive effects of HMO supplementation during infancy, early childhood and beyond.