Three preclinical studies presented at NUTRITION 2026 report that supplements formulated for the gut microbiome, not for human absorption alone, increased bioactive vitamin B3, short-chain fatty acids, and tryptophan availability in a validated ex vivo model of the human gut.
For formulators, the data suggest a supplement’s activity may depend partly on what resident gut bacteria do with it, not only on what the small intestine absorbs.
Microbiome science company Seed Health presented the findings at NUTRITION 2026, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition [1,2]. Researchers used a validated ex vivo gastrointestinal model built on SIFR technology (Cryptobiotix, Belgium) [3] to evaluate three Co-Biotic formulations, DM-02 Daily Multivitamin, AM-02 Energy + Focus, and PM-02 Sleep + Restore, for effects on microbiome composition and function.
What a Co-Biotic is meant to be
Seed Health positions Co-Biotics as daily supplementation engineered for both human and microbial biology, on the premise that the microbiome is an active participant in how a supplement engages the body. DM-02 is a daily multivitamin, AM-02 a caffeine-free energy and focus formulation, and PM-02 a nightly sleep and restore formulation.
The premise sits alongside the wider biotics category used in supplement formulation, spanning probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics.
In the DM-02 arm, researchers measured an approximately 10-fold increase in nicotinic acid, the bioactive form of vitamin B3, versus an equivalent dose of nicotinic acid alone (p<0.05), and roughly 42-fold versus untreated control (p<0.001). DM-02 also increased total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production (p<0.001) and lowered colonic pH (p<0.0001) without raising gas production, and enriched two native vitamin-B-producing bacterial groups five- to sevenfold.
The profile was characterized by greater nutrient availability and higher fermentative activity, though ex vivo readouts do not measure absorption or clinical outcomes in people.
Formulators routinely face a gap between the dose on a label and the amount reaching circulation in active form. Screening that reads microbial conversion, not dissolution and stability alone, may narrow that gap before human trials.
Cathrin Bowtell, Chief Executive Officer of Seed Health, framed the work as a design standard.
“With Co-Biotics, we set out to unlock more of the microbiome’s potential in everyday health. Meaningful innovation requires more than a new idea—it requires designing products differently, studying them rigorously, and continually deepening our understanding of how they work. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to, and one we hope will continue to shape the future of consumer health.”
Two other formulations engaged different pathways. AM-02, aimed at the gut-brain axis, increased total SCFA production by 11% (p<0.0001), including a 12% rise in acetate (p<0.001) and a 20% rise in butyrate (p<0.01), and increased a native acetate-producing species eightfold (p<0.05), with no significant increase in gas production (p=NS, not significant).
PM-02 increased colonic tryptophan availability by 48% (p<0.05), alongside increases in tryptophan-producing bacteria and L-tryptophan biosynthesis pathways. Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin. Total SCFA production also rose (p<0.01), butyrate by 20% (p<0.01). In a complementary in vitro model under bacterial-endotoxin challenge, PM-02 improved gut barrier function by 18% (p<0.05) and reduced measured pro-inflammatory cytokines by 31% to 44%.
Dirk Gevers, Chief Scientific Officer at Seed Health, put the results in formulation terms.
“For decades, supplements have largely been designed around human biology alone. Co-Biotics are built on a different design philosophy – one that recognizes the microbiome as an active participant in how supplements engage human biology. These findings provide formulation-level evidence that designing for both you and your microbiome can produce distinct, targeted microbial responses across nutrition, energy, and sleep.”
Seed Health said in its statement that the findings establish a mechanistic foundation for Co-Biotics as a new category of daily supplementation, and that engaging the microbiome alongside human biology may expand the mechanisms through which supplementation can support health.
The firm added that each formulation appears to engage a distinct microbiome-mediated pathway across nutrient metabolism, gut-brain signaling, and sleep-related biology. All data are preclinical: ex vivo and in vitro readouts describe microbial, metabolite, and barrier responses in a model system, not outcomes measured in people. Under Federal Trade Commission (FTC) substantiation standards they support mechanism, not human effect claims.
Sources
- Seed Health, New Data Show Seed’s Co-Biotics Increase Bioactive Vitamin B3, Gut-Brain Metabolites, and Sleep-Related Tryptophan Through the Microbiome, PR Newswire, July 29, 2026.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-data-show-seeds-co-biotics-increase-bioactive-vitamin-b3-gut-brain-metabolites-and-sleep-related-tryptophan-through-the-microbiome-302838103.html. - American Society for Nutrition, NUTRITION annual meeting.
https://nutrition.org/meeting/. - Van den Abbeele, P., et al., Bridging preclinical and clinical gut microbiota research using the ex vivo SIFR technology, Frontiers in Microbiology, 2023.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10178071/.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is provided for dietary supplement industry professionals and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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