Brightseed, a San Francisco-based bioactives company, has launched Bio Gut Core™, a new nutraceutical ingredient clinically proven to strengthen the gut barrier and improve digestive wellness within weeks. Developed using Brightseed’s proprietary Forager® artificial intelligence platform, Bio Gut Core is a low-dose, ready-to-use ingredient designed for supplements and functional foods. Its debut comes alongside fresh human trial data demonstrating significant benefits for gut health, including enhanced gut barrier function and reduced bloating and abdominal discomfort, in as little as three weeks of use.
Digestive health is a major consumer priority and economic opportunity, with the global digestive health products market valued at over $51 billion. In the United States alone, an estimated 60–70 million people suffer from digestive diseases. Consumers are actively seeking solutions that target the gut barrier, an often-overlooked aspect of gastrointestinal health: according to Brightseed, 88% of surveyed consumers want products to help restore gut barrier function. The gut barrier serves as a critical “shield” in the digestive tract – it fosters a balanced microbiome, enables nutrient absorption, and blocks toxins from entering the bloodstream. A weakened barrier (sometimes called “leaky gut”) can lead to dysbiosis, inflammation, and symptoms like bloating and digestive pain. Until now, formulating supplements to support gut barrier integrity has been challenging, often requiring impractically large doses with limited efficacy. Brightseed’s Bio Gut Core aims to change that with a science-backed, concentrated solution.
AI-Powered Discovery of Key Gut Health Bioactives
Brightseed’s proprietary Forager AI platform identified two bioactive compounds (NCT and NFT) from common plant sources to power the new Bio Gut Core™ ingredient. These natural compounds were discovered in dozens of ubiquitous plants, such as garlic and black pepper, using AI-driven analysis. The discovery exemplifies how advanced technology is uncovering nature’s solutions for human health.
Bio Gut Core’s effectiveness stems from a proprietary blend of two phytonutrients that Brightseed’s Forager® AI discovered in nature: N-trans-caffeoyltyramine (NCT) and N-trans-feruloyltyramine (NFT). These bioactive compounds were identified across many common plants (including garlic and black pepper) as having a unique impact on gut health. Research by Brightseed found that NCT and NFT act as agonists for HNF4α, a transcription factor known to play a key role in maintaining gut barrier integrity. In other words, the compounds activate a biological pathway that fortifies the gut lining. This mechanistic insight helps explain the observed benefits: by targeting HNF4α, NCT and NFT help support a stronger, less permeable intestinal barrier, which is crucial for overall digestive health.
Notably, Bio Gut Core delivers these benefits in a low-dose format, making it easy to incorporate into supplements and functional foods. “Bio Gut Core brings together two clinically-proven bioactives in one product to enable a more complete digestive health solution and effectively target the gut barrier,” Brightseed explained. This marks a breakthrough given that previous approaches to gut barrier support often required high doses or large volumes of fibre. By leveraging AI to pinpoint high-potency natural compounds, Brightseed has created an ingredient that achieves meaningful results with a small, convenient dose.
Clinically Validated Benefits in Just Three Weeks
The launch of Bio Gut Core is backed by results from a new double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial on its bioactive components. In the study, participants who took the NCT+NFT blend experienced a significant improvement in gut barrier function after only three weeks, compared to placebo. They also reported notably less abdominal distension (bloating) and reduced digestive discomfort within the same period. Impressively, some individuals began noticing relief after just one week of supplementation, highlighting the ingredient’s rapid onset of action.
Beyond the quantitative clinical outcomes, Brightseed has highlighted the real-world impact on participants’ quality of life. Study participants provided glowing testimonials about their digestive improvements. One individual described the difference after a week of taking Bio Gut Core as “night and day,” noting they had “the best two weeks in a long time” once the supplement kicked in. Another participant called the experience “absolutely life changing” and said it “has given me some quality of life back”. These firsthand accounts reinforce the clinical data and put a human face on the results, suggesting that Bio Gut Core could offer tangible relief for people suffering from chronic gut issues.
Brightseed’s scientific team underscores that the trial results represent an important validation of their AI-guided discovery approach. “This study provides clinical proof that bioactives NCT and NFT significantly improve gut barrier function, delivering a much-needed solution to health companies and consumers alike,” said Swati Kalgaonkar, Brightseed’s Head of Medical & Scientific Affairs and Clinical Research. Equally noteworthy, Kalgaonkar added, are the dramatic improvements reported by participants – outcomes she said are “even more exciting than the clinical data” and “the reason Brightseed exists”.
The human study was commissioned by Brightseed and is currently under peer review, with anticipated publication in a scientific journal later this summer. The company is also sharing the findings with the scientific community: Brightseed is scheduled to present results from the trial at the upcoming American Society for Nutrition (ASN) NUTRITION 2025 conference on May 31, 2025. The conference session, entitled “From Side Stream to Mainstream: How AI-Discovered Bioactives Are Revolutionizing Gut & Metabolic Health Benefits in Consumer Goods,” will spotlight Bio Gut Core’s development as an example of AI-driven innovation in nutrition.
Addressing the $51 Billion Digestive Health Market
With gut health continuing to dominate wellness trends, Brightseed’s new ingredient comes at an opportune time for the industry. The digestive health products sector – from supplements to functional foods – is enormous and growing, estimated at over $50 billion globally. A large segment of consumers struggles with persistent digestive issues like IBS, “leaky gut,” and related metabolic conditions, driving demand for more effective solutions. Lee Chae, PhD, Brightseed’s co-founder and CEO, noted that Bio Gut Core represents a “novel, nature-derived ingredient” entering the $51 billion digestive market, and described it as a “next-level solution” to provide relief for the “tens of millions of Americans” affected by debilitating digestive conditions. By delivering clinically validated efficacy in a convenient form, Bio Gut Core gives supplement manufacturers and wellness brands a new tool to address these widespread consumer needs.
Chae also emphasized that the successful development of Bio Gut Core validates Brightseed’s broader platform and mission. The positive clinical results “further validate the ability of Brightseed’s AI-driven discovery to meaningfully improve human health and quality of life,” he said. Bioactives identified by artificial intelligence and backed by rigorous trials can rapidly translate into market-ready health products – a paradigm that could accelerate innovation across the nutraceutical industry. Brightseed has signalled that Bio Gut Core is just the beginning, with “big plans from here” as it expands its pipeline of AI-discovered, science-backed ingredients. The company’s portfolio already includes offerings like Bio Gut Fibre (an upcycled hemp fibre ingredient rich in the same bioactives NCT and NFT), and it plans to unveil additional bioactive-based solutions targeting other areas of health.
Innovating Nutraceuticals for Digestive Wellness
Brightseed’s launch of Bio Gut Core™ illustrates a growing trend at the intersection of technology and natural products in the nutraceutical sector. By harnessing AI to uncover efficacious plant compounds and validating them through clinical research, companies like Brightseed are pioneering a new model of evidence-based innovation in digestive wellness. For healthcare practitioners and product formulators, this AI-discovered ingredient offers a novel approach to strengthening gut health, one that is rooted in nature yet demonstrated with scientific rigour. As digestive wellness remains a top priority for consumers, Bio Gut Core signals how cutting-edge discovery methods can unlock next-generation nutraceuticals. This convergence of AI technology, clinically proven efficacy, and unmet market needs sets a promising precedent for the future of gut health solutions and functional ingredients in the wellness industry.
