DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences today launched HOWARU^® Calm, a probiotic aimed at helping dietary supplement manufacturers decrease the cycle of consumer stress.

Surveys suggest 65 percent of adults worldwide indicate stress is a regular part of their daily lives^[i].  Prolonged stress can negatively affect mood, sleep and digestive health.

HOWARU^® Calm is the most recent addition to DuPont’s comprehensive HOWARU^® portfolio and is shown to manage the psychological response to perceived stress.

“Too much stress, or daily chronic stress has become more prevalent in today’s society and can seriously impact our mental and physical well-being and overall health,” said Dr. Elaine Patterson, senior R&D scientist, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences. “Over the last few years, we have been investigating the links between the gut microbiota and brain health —the so-called microbiota-gut-brain axis. During these investigations, our focus was on discovering a natural probiotic solution targeting brain health, more specifically mood, stress and anxiety. We are proud to finally share the fruits of our innovation and have developed a product that helps consumers target stress at the source so they can prioritize both their mental and physical health.”

Ahead of bringing HOWARU^® Calm to market, the product’s featured strain – L. paracasei Lpc-37^®, was scrupulously tested to ensure its quality, efficacy and performance. During a recent clinical study, participants took Lpc-37^® daily for five weeks before undergoing an acute stress test — the Trier Social Stress Test – considered the most valid and reliable laboratory protocol for inducing stress in humans in a clinical setting. Researchers measured participants’ mood, stress and anxiety levels in response to the five-week intervention with Lpc-37^®, their perceived and physiological response to the acute stress test at the end of the study, and their overall mood, health and well-being throughout the study, and compared the results to a placebo group. They found that those participants taking Lpc-37^® reported a significant reduction in perceived stress following five-weeks of intervention.

“In the last five years, the industry has seen a 34 percent global increase of new probiotic supplements that help stabilize mood and combat stress, as consumers have begun to recognize the critical impact the gut has on the brain,” said Stephanie Udell, global marketing leader, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences. “By launching HOWARU^® Calm, we’re allowing dietary supplement manufacturers to develop an efficacious end-product that satisfies market demand for probiotic supplements aimed at reducing stress and promoting mental well-being.”

HOWARU^® Calm can be added to existing dietary supplement products or used to create new ones. In addition, HOWARU^® Calm can be formulated into innovative food and beverage products sure to meet the increasing consumer demand for alternative probiotic formats.

[i] Multi-sponsor Surveys, Inc. / 2018 Study of Energy Needs & Solutions.