Tribiotic products represent a new trend in functional foods, being products that combine prebiotic compounds with probiotic beneficial microorganisms and postbiotic metabolites produced by probiotic microorganisms. The economic operator concerned, Medica, has acquired a modern technological line for the cultivation of symbiotic colonies of bacteria and yeasts (SCOBY), on the basis of which it has developed an innovative micronised pollen fermentation technology, which it has used to increase the bioavailability of bioactive compounds in pollen. In order to increase its performance and competitiveness on the nutraceuticals market, the economic operator is seeking to optimise this technology with a view to obtaining a product which also has a complex tribiotic action, complementary to that of phyto-nutrients with increased bioavailability from pollen and bioactive SCOBY compounds.

The optimisation of the technology requires the interconnection of the existing expertise at USAMVB, in the field of probiotic microorganisms, the determination of bacteriocin production and their molecular characterisation, with that of INCDSB on cell cultures for in vitro evaluation of biological action. The research partners will also contribute to the development of the quality assurance system of the final product through inter-comparison tests between laboratories, while providing an efficient framework for the development of internships for master and PhD students.

On the basis of the results to be published, the notification dossier for the nutritional supplement will be drawn up, which will include the marketing/consumer communication strategy for the demonstrated beneficial physiological effects of the innovative tribiotic product. The economic operator already has pre-orders for the SCOBY fermented bee pollen product. On the basis of these pre-orders, an increase in turnover of EUR 500 thousand is expected in the first year of production, with the possibility of doubling/tripling in the next two years.