Newly published research supports the immune-boosting benefits of a single dose of Cargill’s yeast-derived postbiotic EpiCor. Scientists found the ingredient rapidly modulates inflammatory cytokines and immune surveillance markers in thirty healthy adults.
The findings build on a growing body of evidence, including pediatric literature detailing how the ingredient helps reduce cold and flu symptoms in children aged four to 12.
Rapid Response in Clinical Trial
In a placebo-controlled human study published in Frontiers in Nutrition, researchers found EpiCor produced measurable changes in immune-related biomarkers within hours of consumption. Justin Green, Ph.D., the scientific affairs lead for EpiCor at Cargill, noted this offers insight into early biological responses.
Participants in the randomized double-blind crossover trial consumed either a single 500 mg dose of EpiCor or a placebo on two different clinic visits, separated by a washout period of one week.
Researchers collected blood samples at baseline, followed by one, two, and three hours after consumption. Using flow cytometry, they determined white blood cell activity by analyzing their membrane expression of activation markers CD25 and CD69.
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The team also tested serum samples for a broad panel of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. These are signaling proteins that cells use to communicate with each other during immune responses, inflammation, and tissue repair.
Suppression of Inflammatory Markers
Clinical trial participants who ingested a single dose of EpiCor exhibited rapid, targeted changes in their immune-related biomarkers compared to those who took a placebo.
These included reductions in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and transient redistribution of CD25+ immune cell subsets. By the first hour, systemic inflammatory markers among those supplementing with EpiCor were significantly reduced compared to changes after consuming a placebo.
This observation was accompanied by a transient decrease in CD25+ immune cells circulating in the blood, as well as reduced granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). G-CSF stimulates the bone marrow to produce, mature, and release white blood cells.
At the second hour after taking EpiCor, cytokines IL-4, IL-7, and IL-8 were significantly decreased compared to placebo. The researchers found a reduction in cytokines that perform a distinct role in directing, growing, or recruiting immune cells.
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The team notes that all these effects generally occurred within one to three hours of ingestion. This reflects targeted modulation of specific inflammatory markers rather than uniform downregulation of immune activity.
Pediatric Applications
A previous study in Pediatric Research looked at the postbiotic’s use in pediatric populations. Green highlighted that this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted during the traditional cold and flu season and evaluated the effects of a daily 500 mg dose of EpiCor in children aged four to 12.
He notes that this study was among the first to assess the health benefits of postbiotics in a pediatric population and is one of the few to use a gummy supplement format. “That’s important because gummies present challenges for many functional ingredients due to their high-water content and harsh manufacturing conditions.”
“When cold and flu symptoms were experienced during the 12 weeks of the study, if the children were receiving EpiCor, the overall severity of these symptoms was lower, with statistical significance, than the symptom severity for the children receiving placebo,” he details.
More specifically, children who received a placebo were nearly two times (1.7) more likely to use prescription or ov
