TerraFlora Probiotic by Enviromedica

Why Soil Based Organisms?

Through diet and lifestyle, our earliest ancestors were routinely exposed to spore-based bacteria found in healthy soils and our natural environment. In our modern and hyper-sanitized world, this primitive yet vital connection to nature has been all but lost.

Soil based organisms (SBOs) or SBO probiotics define a class of probiotic supplements based on a greater understanding of the incredible diversity of the human gut, coupled with a deeper appreciation for how humans and their commensal “helper” bacteria work together to produce a healthy system.

Soil based bacteria have a 3-stage life cycle, with each stage triggered by nutrient availability: vegetative growth, sporulation, and germination. The sporulation phase is particularly relevant to its potential as a probiotic. The spore structure preserves the bacteria in a dormant phase and against any harm whether in any terrestrial environment or in the acidic environments of the stomach and upper intestines. When these soil probiotic microbiota are ingested, they travel all the way to the lower intestine where they come alive. Like a seed, warm temperatures, moisture, and nutrients stimulate the germination stage where bacteria emerges from dormancy.9 Soil-based probiotics are well-adapted to the environment of the gut, and have been shown to remain in the digestive tract where they can provide long term benefit.

SBO probiotics are characterized by two traits that make them superior to other probiotics:
1) the spore phase enabling natural resistance to the harsh environment of the upper digestive tract and stomach, and 2) inherent environmental stability that does not require the addition of specialized coatings or preservatives to ensure a clinically relevant amount reaches the appropriate areas of the gut.

Though SBO probiotics are based directly on symbiotic communities of bacteria found in natural soil environments, these organisms are not harvested directly from the earth to be packaged as a supplement. They are instead produced in a safe, monitored environment to ensure specificity of the strains.

Terraflora’s innovative strain combination features-

Ribospore™ (Bacillus pumilus)

• Substantial producer of Riboflavin (vitamin B2), providing 300-500 times more riboflavin than a typical strain.
• Produces bioavailable antioxidant carotenoids

Bacillus megaterium EM144™

• Supports gastrointestinal homeostasis
• Produces bioavailable antioxidant carotenoids

Bacillus clausii

• Supports immune function
• Supports GI homeostasis during antibiotic therapy

Bacillus subtilis

• Produces vitamin K2 and the enzyme Nattokinase
• Supports healthy GALT function

Bacillus coagulans

• Produces L+ optical form of lactic acid
• Supports immune function

Terraflora then adds purposeful, certified organic prebiotics specifically designed to support healthy intestinal flora, with naturally-occurring food-based polyphenols and polysaccharides, sustainably sourced from wild-harvested seaweeds, mushroom fruiting bodies, and humic acid-

Larch Arabinogalactan

• Increases production of butyrate in the gut; butyrate is the principle fuel for intestinal cells and supports healthy tight junctions in the gut lining.
• Enhances beneficial gut flora and increases intestinal anaerobes, particularly Bifidobacterium longum.

Bladderwrack and Wakame Extracts

• Rich in marine polyphenols and polysaccharides.
• Support healthy inflammation response in the GI tract.
• Increases beneficial bacteria and significantly decreases inflammatory response and antigen load of gut microbiota.
• Increases the integrity of tight junctions in the gut lining.

Nordic Chaga Extract

• Contains a diverse spectrum of polyphenols and polysaccharides.
• Shown to support healthy inflammation response in the colon.
• Shown to decrease firmicutes-to-bacteriodetes bacterial ratios.

Red Reishi Extract

• Contains a diverse spectrum of polyphenols and polysaccharides.
• Shown to increase microbiota richness and supports intestinal barrier function.
• Supports health of the gut lumen.

Humic Acid

• Shown to increase overall concentration of colonic microbiota and a fantastic detoxifying agent for the whole body.

Probiotics with soil based organisms have a simple, natural advantage. “Bacterial spores offer the advantage of a higher survival rate during the acidic stomach passage and better stability during the processing and storage of the food product,” writes researcher Johannes Bader, from the Technische University Berlin. A natural seed-like structure encases the spore-based strains, protecting against degradation by heat and stomach acid, arriving at the lower GI tract intact and alive.

Unlike most probiotic supplements, made from fragile, lactic-acid based organisms, soil bacteria probiotics are naturally resilient, will survive their journey to the gut, and don’t need refrigeration.

High quality spore-based strains are transient, meaning they don’t take up residence in the gut and are out of the system in approximately 30 days. For example, the strains we work with achieved GRAS status, as well as QPS (European EFSA criteria), fully genome sequenced and confirmed that they are not “pathogenic”.

These beneficial, spore based probiotics create a more hospitable condition for native (already present in the gut), strict anaerobic commensal bacteria to thrive by reducing oxidative stress in the gut. The focus is to condition the intestinal environment so that your natural, diverse flora have the best chance to proliferate.

Supplementing with huge numbers (25 – 50 billion CFU’s) of fragile lactobacillus and bifidobacterium is the equivalent of monocropping in commercial agriculture. Supplementing with relatively small counts of spore-based bacteria, which humans were in close relationship with for tens of thousands of years, creates the opportunity for diverse commensal bacteria to thrive. They aren’t competing with our “good” bacteria. Simply put, they enter, do their work (reduce oxidative stress, produce highly bioavailable nutrients, reinforce the gut lining, etc.), and are out of the system in 30 days.

Are Soil-Based Probiotics Good For SIBO?
SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, results from an imbalance of bacteria, specifically when there are large numbers of unwelcome bacteria in the small intestine. Although it depends on what type of overgrowth and how it is manifesting, other sensitivities, and dietary protocol, overall, soil-based probiotics are generally safe and can be effective for SIBO patients.

Ingredients: 
Probiotic Bio-Complex: 1 Billion Viable Cells per serving Ribospore® (Bacillus pumilus), Bacillus megaterium EM144™, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus clausii, Bacillus coagulans.

Prebiotic Bio-Complex: 850mg per serving Larch Arabinogalactan [Larix spp.], Reishi [Ganoderma lucidum] Extract (fruiting body), Wild-Harvested Chaga [Inonotus obliquus] Extract (fruiting body), Wild-Harvested Nova Scotian Bladderwrack [Fucus vesiculosus] Extract (thallus), Wild-Harvested Patagonian Wakame [Undaria pinnatifida] Extract (sporophyll), Humic Acids.

Other Ingredients: Plant cellulose (capsule).

Contains NO dairy, wheat, gluten, corn, sugar, soy, shellfish, tree nuts, or GMO’s. Made without stearates, fillers, binders, flow agents, or additives of any kind.

Serving Size: 2 Capsules

What to Expect: The gut will likely experience a period of adaptation and with initial use, there may be some gastrointestinal discomfort or changes in stool formation.  This should subside within 5 days. 

Dosing: To begin with take 1 capsule every other day for the first week. Gradually increase to 1 capsule per day for week two and work up to 2 capsules per day over week three.