Design-Zyme LLC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NIA

Description

ABSTRACT Studies of the microbiome of older individuals has shown greatly reduced numbers of known beneficial bacteria coinciding with a greater presence of potentially detrimental bacterial strainsNot surprisinglythe decrease in beneficial microbes coincides with a loss of anti inflammatory activity and genes associated with short chain fatty acid productionThis age related decline in the gut microbiome is also an important determinant of age associated pathological states including neurodegenerationchronic inflammationfrailtycognitive declinetypeand typediabetesmusculoskeletal degenerationas well as nonalcoholic fatty liver diseasecardiovascular diseaseand development of certain types of cancerThe need to increase overall consumption of resistant starchRSprebiotics in the elderly population is clearThe difficulty arises in providing RS in sufficient quantitiesg dailyto these individuals in a form that is easily stored and readily consumedIn this projectDesign Zyme LLC willDevelop a rapid assay for evaluation of prebiotic nutrient component efficacy on known human gut microbesandOptimize a safedigestion resistant molecule specifically targeting beneficial human gut microbiota deficiencies in the elderlyTo accomplish thiswe will design an assay to quickly and easily evaluate the growth of common strains of beneficial gut bacteria and then use this assay to screen individual molecular components of a known resistant starch prebiotic compoundAt the end of Phase Iwe will have developed an easy to use assay for determining effectiveness of individual prebioticsFurthermoreusing this assaywe will have identified specific molecules that promote the proliferation of beneficial gut bacteriaespecially those in the aging and elderly populationsDuring Phase II of this proposalwe will establish how to best modify and formulate the molecules from Phase I to resist breakdown in solution while concomitantly allowing for more concentrated solutions to be manufacturedAt the end of Phase IIwe will have established how to protect these molecules from breakdown in a water solutionallowing for the creation of pre mixed aqueous beverages capable of retaining their prebiotic functionality with a minimum shelf life of six monthsResearch into prebiotic nutrient compounds remains an importantemerging fieldThe techniques and assays developed in this grant proposal will be widely applicable to a range of prebiotic compounds and will advance the development of effectiveconcentrated prebiotics capable of directly modulating the human gut microbiome and improving overall health in the elderly population PROJECT NARRATIVE Low levels of dietary resistant starchRSare linked to detrimental physiological conditionsespecially those that affect the elderly and aging populationsNumerous studies have shown that adequate daily consumption of prebiotic resistant starch has multiple positive health effects including production of short chain fatty acidsincreased Treg cell productionincreased production of IgAand lower blood cholesterol and post prandial blood glucose levelsThe assays developed in this grant proposal and the novelbeneficialprebiotic components identified will advance the development of effectiveconcentrated prebiotics capable of directly modulating the human gut microbiome in populations of all age groups