Data from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 350 healthy adults with self-reported bloating or indigestion indicated that six weeks of supplementation with DS-01 led to improvements in stool regularity and the quality of bowel movements.
By the end of the study, 76% of participants also reported significant decreases or elimination of abdominal pain (non-chronic), according to findings published in Nutrients.
“This is the largest randomized, placebo-controlled probiotic or synbiotic trial to evaluate bloating in otherwise healthy adults, a diverse population that often experiences significant digestive symptoms without ever entering the healthcare system,” Zain Kassam, MD, MPH, Seed’s chief medical officer, told NutraIngredients. “That context matters, as bloating is frequently normalized and self-managed, yet its impact extends far beyond digestion, disrupting everything from physical activity to what people feel safe to eat.
“As a gastroenterologist, when people rely on consumer products as their first line of support for gut health, the quality of evidence behind those products matters, a lot. Without rigorous clinical research, it’s difficult to distinguish real gastrointestinal benefit from well-packaged claims. This study reflects the standard we hold ourselves to at Seed: applying the level of scientific rigor usually reserved for clinical medicine to everyday health challenges, at scale.”
Study details
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Seed Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, University of California, San Francisco, Increnovo LLC, and Yale University School of Medicine recruited participants from 40 U.S. states and one U.S. territory to participate in their decentralized trial,
Participants were randomly assigned to receive DS-01 or placebo for six weeks. DS-01 is formulated with 24 genetically distinct microorganisms across 12 species (53.6 billion AFU) plus 400 mg pomegranate extract. The product won the NutraIngredients-USA Award for probiotic product of the year in 2022.
Results showed that, compared to placebo, significantly more participants in the DS-01 group reported bloating as never or rarely occurring at the end of the study Further analysis showed that, among those with mild-to-moderate bloating at baseline, 91% reported little to no interference from bloating in daily life within the first week.
Additionally, almost 80% of participants taking DS-01 reported no or only slight constipation-related discomfort, along with improvements in stool regularity and the quality of bowel movements.
People taking DS-01 also reported improved quality of life, with less food avoidance and greater enjoyment of food recorded. There were also fewer disruptions to daily activities due to digestive concerns, the researchers reported.
Improvements in anxiety-related feelings were also observed, with 66% of those taking DS-01 with mild, occasional baseline anxiety reporting improvements in anxiety-related feelings.
“This study is notable not only for its findings on bloating but for how it raises the bar for probiotic and consumer health research,” said study co-author Dr. Ralf Jäger, managing member of Increnovo. “Large, randomized, placebo-controlled trials with validated endpoints remain rare in this space. Applying that level of rigor here helps distinguish meaningful gut health benefit from marketing claims and sets a higher bar for how consumer health products can and should be evaluated.”
Source: Nutrients, 2026, 18(2), 255, doi: 10.3390/nu18020255. “A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial Evaluating Multi-Species Synbiotic Supplementation for Bloating, Gas, and Abdominal Discomfort”. Authors: J.R. Allegretti, et al.
