A combined proteomics, metabolomics and in vivo analysis approach for the characterization of probiotics in a large-scale production

The manufacturing processes of commercial probiotic strains may be affected in different ways in the attempt to optimize yield, costs, functionality, or stability, influencing gene expression, protein patterns, or metabolic output. Aim of this work was to compare different samples of a high concentration (450 billion bacteria) multispecies (8 strains) formulation produced at two different manufacturing sites, USA (US) and Italy (IT), by applying a combination of functional proteomics, metabolomics, and in vivo analyses. Several protein-profile differences were detected between IT- and US-made products, with Lactobacillus paracasei, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Bifidobacteria being the main affected probiotics/microorganisms. Performing 1H-NMR, some discrepancies in amino acid, lactate, betaine and sucrose concentrations were also reported between the two products. Finally, we investigated the health promoting and antiaging effects of both products in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Integration of omic platforms with in vivo analysis is a powerful tool to assess manufacturing procedures.