Seed’s Co-Biotics Increase Bioactive Vitamin B3, Gut-Brain Metabolites, Tryptophan: Study

Microbiome supplement company Seed Health presented new data showing how its three-supplement protocol, Co-Biotics, modulated the gut microbiome, including increasing bioactive vitamin B3, key short-chain fatty acids involved in gut-brain signaling, and tryptophan availability, all in a validated ex vivo model of the human gut.

The findings, which are still unpublished, were presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting, Nutrition 2026.

“With Co-Biotics, we set out to unlock more of the microbiome’s potential in everyday health,” said Cathrin Bowtell, CEO. “Meaningful innovation requires more than a new idea. It requires designing products differently, studying them rigorously, and continually deepening our understanding of how they work. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to, and one we hope will continue to shape the future of consumer health.”

“For decades, supplements have largely been designed around human biology alone,” said Dirk Gevers, chief scientific officer. “Co-Biotics are built on a different design philosophy: one that recognizes the microbiome as an active participant in how supplements engage human biology. These findings provide formulation-level evidence that designing for both you and your microbiome can produce distinct, targeted microbial responses across nutrition, energy, and sleep.”

DM-02 Daily Multivitamin

DM-02, a daily multivitamin, was shown in the ex vivo gut model ot increase the bioactive form of vitamin B3 and lower colonic pH through the microbiome, suggesting the supplement may support nutrient metabolism by engaging the microbiome to increase nutrient availability and beneficial microbial activity.

It increased vitamin B3 10 times more than nicotinic acid alone, and 42-fold versus the untreated control. It also significantly increased total short-chain fatty acid production and decreased colonic pH without increasing gas production. Finally, DM-02 increased two native bacterial groups associated with vitamin B production by five- to seven-fold.

AM-02 Energy + Focus

AM-02, a caffeine-free formulation designed to support energy and focus via the gut-brain connection, was shown to increase production of acetate and butyrate by 12% and 20%, respectively, with a total SCFA increase of 11%. It increased acetate-producing bacterial species by eight-fold, with no increase in gas production during colonic simulation.

PM-02 Sleep + Restore

PM-02, a nightly formulation designed to support deeper, restorative sleep, increased the availability of tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin and melatonin, and strengthened the gut barrier under stress, supporting the potential of a microbiome-targeted approach to sleep health.

Compared to control, there was a 48% greater tryptophan availability, alongside increases in tryptophan-producing bacteria and L-tryptophan biosynthesis pathways. The supplement increased total SCFA production, with especially strong upregulation in butyrate production (+20%), without increasing gas production.

In a complementary in vitro model under bacterial-endotoxin challenge, PM-02 improved markers of gut barrier function by 18% and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines by 31-44%.