Canada Approves Gut-Brain Axis Health Claims for Lallemand Probiotic

Photo © iStockphoto.com/David Marchal

Probio’Stick, a probiotic formula from Lallemand Health Solutions (Montreal) that combines Bifidobacterium longum Rosell-175 and Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell-52 in stick format, has been approved for several health claims relating to stress, anxiety, and mood balance by Canada’s Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate (NNHPD).

The approvals make Probio’Stick the “first and only probiotic with approved health claims in the gut-brain axis area” in Canada, according to Lallemand.

The approved claims, registered under Health Canada as Claim NPN 80021343, now include:

·      “Promotes a healthy mood balance”

·      “Helps to moderate general feelings of anxiety”

·      “Helps to reduce gastrointestinal complications like abdominal pain and nausea in healthy people experiencing mild to moderate stress”

·      “Helps to reduce stress-related gastrointestinal complications such as abdominal pain”

·      “Helps to reduce gastrointestinal discomfort (e.g. abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting) in those experiencing mild to moderate stress resulting from life events e.g. academic exams)”

“This recognition is based on a strong clinical and pre-clinical dossier examining the interactions of our probiotics with the brain-gut axis, or second brain, an area of growing interest for the scientific community and consumers alike and for which we have dedicated research efforts for nearly a decade,” says Solange Henoud, regulatory affairs manager Americas, Lallemand. “This has lead to the publication of the first clinical study evaluating probiotics benefits on psychological symptoms of stress and anxiety as early as 2010.”

The new claims come in addition to the previously approved Probio’Stick health claim,“helps to reduce stress-related gastro-intestinal complications like nausea,” as well as generic probiotic claims.

“We are confident that [the new health claims] will help us not only in Canada, but also in other territories to support our customers’ position in an expanding and competitive market,” says Celia Martin, head of regulatory affairs, Lallemand.

Read more:

Are Probiotics Moving Beyond Gut Health?

Health Canada Grants Health Claims to Five Lallemand Probiotic Formulas

Probiotic Firms Venture Further Into the Allergy Market

Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com