'Symprove' a water-based food supplement

Packaging for Symprove, a water-based food supplement with live bacteria, consisting of box and (empty) bottle, made by Symprove, 2022. This bacteria based food supplement delivers live bacteria to the gut to support an individual's microbiome and gut health.

Symprove is a water-based food supplement, also known as a multi strain probiotic. It was donated in 2022 by an individual who experienced irritable bowel condition and took it to improve their symptoms, digestive health and gut microbiome. It is taken as a 70ml ‘shot’ every morning, 10 minutes before eating and drinking.

The probiotic supplies a range of live bacteria (L. rhamnosus, E. faecium, L. plantarum, L. acidophilus) grown on extract of barley. The company claims that unlike dairy and powder alternatives, the water-based formula doesn’t trigger digestion, so that bacteria reaches the gut alive to colonise it.

The probiotic has featured in a number of research studies to explore its efficacy in the body and on individuals with digestive health conditions. A study in 2015 by University College London found that Symprove’s bacteria arrived in the gut in a live state and colonise the gut.

It is made by Symprove Ltd, founded in 2002. The company’s founder Barry Smith, a farmer, developed a form of probiotic feed (Multigerm) for his animals based on germinated grains in the 1980s, and developed an idea for a similar product for people. Symprove first launched in 2010, and is produced in Farnham, Surrey.