Please note that the English version of this text has been prepared with the assistance of AI, and in some instances, it may not have been subsequently reviewed or edited by the authors.
Can our well-being really be closely linked to the billions of microorganisms living in our digestive tract? Lead researcher at the National Research and Innovation Institute (NRII), associate professor at the University of Latvia (UL), and research platform “BioPhoT” project “SynGABA” Host Ilze Elbere and business developer Līga Brasliņa explain in the program “Latvia in Science” how microbiome research helps to better understand human health and how the idea breaks out of the laboratory.
Ilze Elbere has been researching the microbiome – the collection of microorganisms and their produced metabolites that live in the human body – for over 12 years. The gut is often referred to as the human “second brain” because there is constant communication between the microorganisms residing there and the brain. “There are a number of signals that come directly from the microorganisms in the gut, and they affect both how we feel and how the body reacts to what we eat,” explains the researcher.
According to her, the microbiome is influenced by many more factors than we often realize, including stress, dietary choices, physical activity, medication use, smoking, and even the environment in which we live. Speaking of stress, Elbere emphasizes that not only humans but also intestinal microorganisms feel its effects: “Our microbiome really dislikes an unhealthy lifestyle and worries. The stomach physically clenches. The idea that taking miracle pills and continuing to live a stressful lifestyle, not sleeping, only eating french fries all the time, and expecting the pills to save you is also misguided.”
The more scientists understand the functioning of the microbiome, the more apparent it becomes that health is determined not by a single miracle cure, but by a complex interaction between the individual's characteristics, lifestyle, environment, and billions of microorganisms. The translation of this knowledge into practical solutions is currently one of the most significant challenges.
Gut microbiota research is the basis of the “SynGABA” project. Within its framework, researchers are attempting to develop an innovative product – a synbiotic – for targeted enhancement of the microbiome's activity. The project's idea is to combine specially selected bacteria with suitable nutrients for them to promote the formation of gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, in the body. This substance plays a crucial role in nervous system function and brain-gut axis processes. Currently, the team has selected probiotic bacterial candidates from samples of the gut microbiomes of Latvian residents, whose characterization in the laboratory is being carried out in collaboration with LU researcher Māris Seņkovs, and is searching for the most effective combinations of bacteria and their specific nutrients.
However, the path from a researcher's idea and laboratory work to a real product is much more complex than the scientific discovery itself. “Even at the very beginning of the idea, the “wires connected” for me – no, I like this, I believe in this,” Elbere recalls. That is why one must believe all the time, look for opportunities to develop the idea: one must look for funding. Initially, still during her studies, LU Foundation scholarships helped with this, and now the funding from the state research and innovation platform “BioPhoT”.
For research results to ever reach people, it's necessary to understand where and how such a solution will be possible to use. This is precisely where business development and commercialization work begins. Līga Brasliņa, business developer for the “SynGABA” project and researcher at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Latvia, points out: “The dietary supplement market is one of the most saturated in the world. Consumers are faced daily with various promises of health benefits, so it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish scientifically based solutions from loud marketing statements. The wide range of offerings creates enormous noise, making it hard to recognize the “gems” – those truly valuable things based on high science.”
Brasliņa emphasizes that it's important to understand what the final result will be. It won't always be a product on a store shelf, as the solution might be useful for a pharmaceutical company. However, that also represents an idea reaching the market. While new strains of bacteria are being researched in laboratories, discussions with companies are taking place in parallel, funding is being sought for further development, and intellectual property protection is also being planned.
When discussing what innovation is, an expert says, “Innovation is a verb. It's not a straight path from idea to result. However, even if innovation encounters a “mountain,” it doesn't mean it won't go around that mountain.”
