hy Expands Research on Probiotic HP7 from Stomach to Intestine

hy is expanding its research on its proprietary probiotic HP7, originally isolated from kimchi, from the stomach to the intestine.
 
Comparative studies of live HP7 and heat-treated, inactive HP7 under the same conditions showed improvements in intestinal motility indicators in animal models for both forms.
 
Based on these findings, hy plans to broaden the application of HP7 not only as a live probiotic but also as a postbiotic material.
 
On August 7, hy announced that its research paper on HP7's effects on intestinal motility and gut barrier function has been published in the international journal Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (JMB). According to the company, this is the seventh research paper related to HP7.
 
HP7 is a kimchi-derived probiotic developed by hy, which has been assigned a strain number. Research has primarily focused on its ability to inhibit Helicobacter pylori and its effects on gastrointestinal motility, emphasizing stomach health.
 
Experimental results indicated that both groups receiving live and heat-treated HP7 showed improvements in bowel movement frequency, stool moisture content, and small intestine content movement.
 
Changes were also observed in genes involved in water transport, mucus production, and gut barrier maintenance. In colon tissue, the tissue changes associated with reduced intestinal motility were alleviated.
 
There were differences in how the two forms affected gut microbiota. Live HP7 caused a relatively broad change in the gut microbiome structure, while heat-treated HP7 exhibited selective changes in specific microbial groups.
 
The research team concluded that heat-treated HP7 retains biological activity and merits further investigation as a potential postbiotic candidate for regulating intestinal motility.
 
Kim Joo-yeon, head of the New Material Development Team at hy's Central Research Institute, stated, "This research expands the scope of HP7 from the stomach to the intestine and confirms the similarities and differences between live probiotics and postbiotics. We will continue to accumulate scientific evidence for each strain and develop products and materials that consider the characteristics of each form."