Achieving Organoleptic Acceptability with Elemental Formula

Presented at ACG 2024 | Read the full study

Overview

Poor palatability is a known barrier to clinical use of Elemental Diets. mBIOTA Elemental was formulated to overcome this barrier by creating a new generation of Elemental Diets. In a prospective single‑blind comparative study evaluating mBIOTA Elemental against a commercially available elemental formula in adults with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) or Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO), mBIOTA was preferred by 100% of participants. The goal was to assess organoleptic acceptability, which is how well subjects liked the taste, smell, appearance, and consistency of each formula. 

Results

In the trial of 30 adult subjects, all participants (100%) preferred the mBIOTA Elemental™ formula over the comparator in direct taste testing. As compared to a leading competitor, the proportion of subjects who liked or were neutral to mBIOTA (Likert scale 1-4) was significantly higher for all organoleptic characteristics:

• Appearance (90% vs 63.3%)
• Smell (86.7% vs 6.7%)
• Taste (86.7% vs 0%)
• Aftertaste (73.3% vs 6.7%)
• Consistency (90% vs 53.3%)
• Overall impression (83.3% vs 0%)

Most importantly, 100% of participants completed the 2‑week exclusive mBIOTA Elemental™ regimen, indicating strong compliance and real‑world feasibility of the product.

Conclusions

The study demonstrated that mBIOTA Elemental achieves superior palatability and acceptability compared to a standard elemental diet product in a population of adults with SIBO/IMO. Higher acceptability may lead to better adherence in clinical practice, addressing a common limitation of traditional elemental formulas. These findings support the potential of mBIOTA Elemental as a more patient‑friendly nutritional intervention among individuals requiring exclusive formula‑based dietary therapy.