AB-BIOTICS and Kaneka have announced the results of new clinical research into a proprietary probiotic blend in peri- and postmenopausal women.
The clinical trial found that the blend — commercialised in the US as KABP Menopause and in Europe as Gyntima Menopause — significantly improved menopause-related symptoms and quality of life in participants.
The pair said in a statement that the findings make the blend the first and only commercially available probiotic ingredient to clinically demonstrate both oestrogen modulation and improved menopausal symptoms.
The study
The research was published in The Journal of The Menopause Society.
The study evaluated Levilactobacillus brevis KABP-052, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KABP-051 and Pediococcus acidilactici KABP-021 and enrolled 245 women aged 45-60 years.
Participants received either the probiotic blend at one billion CFU/day or placebo for 12 weeks while maintaining their usual diet and lifestyle.
After three months, women receiving the probiotic showed a significantly greater improvement in total Menopause Rating Scale II (MRS-II) scores than those receiving placebo.
The strongest effects included improvements in symptoms such as hot flushes and sleep disturbances, alongside reductions in depressive mood and improvements in measures of physical and mental exhaustion.
The probiotic group also recorded significantly greater improvements in wellbeing scores across occupational, health, emotional and sexual domains.
Targeting the estrobolome
The new results build on previous clinical research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, which found that a probiotic formula containing KABP-052 helped maintain serum estradiol and estrone levels during the menopausal transition.
In that study, 113 healthy peri- and postmenopausal women received the probiotic or placebo for 12 weeks; estradiol and estrone levels were significantly higher in the probiotic group at the end of the study.
The proposed mechanism centres on the estrobolome, the collection of gut microbial genes involved in oestrogen metabolism.
Researchers selected KABP-052 from 84 bacterial strains for its high β-glucuronidase activity, an enzyme that can deconjugate oestrogen metabolites in the gut and facilitate their reabsorption.
For supplement manufacturers, the research adds to growing interest in targeted probiotics as a non-hormonal approach to menopause support.
However, the findings should be viewed as evidence for this specific strain combination rather than probiotics as a category; plus, the study does not establish that modulation of the estrobolome is definitively responsible for the observed symptom improvements.
“More than one billion women worldwide are currently experiencing or have gone through the menopausal transition, which profoundly impacts multiple aspects of health and quality of life,” said María Rodríguez-Palmero, Medical Director at AB-BIOTICS and lead author on the study.
"While scientific investment and innovation in this area have expanded [in] recent years, consumer research suggests that the vast majority of women feel poorly served by the solutions currently available to them."
Research highlights a significant unmet need in menopause care, with only around 45% of European women reporting satisfaction with available options and only 7% of peri- and postmenopausal women in the US being “very satisfied” with over-the-counter options.
“Together, these findings demonstrate how KABP Menopause / Gyntima Menopause can support women navigating the menopausal transition by targeting the root cause of symptoms,” added Jordi Riera, Chief Business Officer at Kaneka Probiotics.
As demand for natural, hormone-free menopause support continues to accelerate, the need for clinically substantiated ingredients has never been greater.
"No other probiotic ingredient has this depth of clinical evidence for oestrogen modulation, which gives supplement formulators a differentiated, science-backed foundation meeting that demand."
