SBIR Phase I: MIcrobial Modulation of Gastrointestinal Digestive Efficiency and Inflammation

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is designed to provide a new probiotic product for public consumption that will address the rising US and global obesity issue and related concurrent increase in health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention, 60-65% of the adult population in the US is overweight or obese. While implementation of lifestyle change (dietary modification and increased physical activity) improves this condition, relapse with additional weight gain is well documented. Current treatments are limited and include surgery and pharmacological agents with well documented health risks. This product is designed to work within the gastrointestinal tract, decreasing the amount of energy available to the host, and providing a means to the consumer to halt weight gain and decrease the risk of relapse, with possible positive modulation of underlying risk factors which contribute to declining health and contribute to increased health care costs. The broader/commercial impacts of this research will be to reduce the high incidence of obesity. The rising cost of health care in the US has been well documented. Much of this cost is associated with increasing obesity, an underlying factor in the development of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, commonly associated with an increase in abdominal circumference/inflammatory processes. According to the World Health Organization, three-fourths of the world population depends upon some form of non-pharmaceutical product for health care, providing a world-wide marketing opportunity for future commercialization.