Information Density: ZBiotics – Signal Evidence & AI Readability

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Your first drink of the night for a better tomorrow

Genetically engineered by a team of PhD microbiologists, ZBiotics® Pre-Alcohol is a probiotic drink that breaks down the byproduct of alcohol responsible for rough mornings after drinking.

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How it works

Our Products

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Empower yourself from the inside out

Our growing lineup of engineered probiotics is designed to enrich busy lives everywhere.

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Pre-Alcohol

Breaks down a toxic byproduct of alcohol called acetaldehyde while you drink and while you sleep — setting you up for a great next morning.

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The science

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Sugar-to-Fiber

Produces an enzyme called levansucrase, which makes fiber using sugar from your diet, gently and all day long—improving your gut health. Now available in Maple and Unflavored.

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The science

Our Mission

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Better living through biotechnology

We’re giving people access to the power of biotechnology using GMO probiotics. And we’re changing the conversation in the process.

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The Science

The world’s first genetically engineered probiotics: purpose-built to improve daily life.

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We start with a natural probiotic bacteria you already eat every day, called Bacillus subtilis. We then used a process naturally honed by bacteria to insert the instructions for making ALDH into the bacteria’s genome...

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Fiber plays an important role in our health but most of us aren’t getting enough fiber in our modern diets. We need 25-30 grams of fiber per day but about 95% of us don’t meet that goal...

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Loved by thousands

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[H3] “Sounds too good to be true”

- Conrad D.

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[H3] “You guys are going to love this”

- Mariah E.

[H3] “ZBiotics has changed my life”

- Marcelo L.

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[H3] “I always make sure I have a ZBiotics now”

- Matt S.

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[H3] “We were all hugely impressed”

- Kristin A.

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[H3] “I've gladly brought extra and shared with friends”

- Taylor W.

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[H3] “After trying it once I was hooked”

- Jordyn H.

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[H3] “Made me wake up feeling really good”

- Brian B.

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[H3] “We love ZBiotics”

- Ashley & Cody

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Featured in

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Lab Notes

Start Learning

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Research

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Introducing Sugar-to-Fiber: The World's Newest GMO Probiotic

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Research

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Exercising the Day After Drinking Alcohol

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Product

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Does ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Work for Every Body?

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Find Pre-Alcohol Near You

Pre-Alcohol is available in select retail locations nationwide.

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The science behind

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Pre-Alcohol

A probiotic that digests a byproduct of alcohol – built with genetic engineering by a team of microbiologists.

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Learn the science in 60 seconds

How it works

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The Basics

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Alcohol produces acetaldehyde

When we drink, our bodies break down alcohol into an unwanted byproduct called acetaldehyde.That byproduct is largely responsible for how we feel the day after drinking.

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Acetaldehyde builds up in the gut

Acetaldehyde forms in two places: the liver and the gut. The liver produces an enzyme that removes it quickly. But the gut does not. So acetaldehyde builds up and lingers, filtering out into the rest of our body over time.

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Pre-Alcohol breaks it down

Pre-Alcohol helps our gut catch up by temporarily adding a probiotic that can break down acetaldehyde.This probiotic – Bacillus subtilis ZB183™ – has been engineered to produce the same type of enzyme as our liver: one that digests acetaldehyde.

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Proudly built with genetic engineering

The ZBiotics team invented the probiotic in Pre-Alcohol – Bacillus subtilis ZB183™ – using genetic engineering. Our approach to biotechnology is safety-first and grounded in the strictest ethical principles. We build responsibly or we don’t build at all.

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As with introducing anything new to the gut microbiome, you may experience an adjustment phase when starting to use Sugar-to-Fiber. Gas, bloating, and changes in stool can all be signals that your gut is recalibrating and that the product is working (learn why here). If this is your experience, mild discomfort is totally normal and should be temporary. Stay hydrated and contact us with questions or concerns.

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The Problem

Acetaldehyde is an unwanted molecule that can build up in the body when drinking alcoholHere’s the problem. The body has many biological reactions to drinking alcohol, not all of which are pleasant. The metabolism of alcohol produces a variety of small molecules and cellular responses which, when piled-up, can be hard on your body and throw you off your healthy routine. One of those small molecules is acetaldehyde, an unwanted, toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism. Its chemical structure is highly reactive, which means it can interact with a whole host of molecular and cellular components throughout our bodies. But how does alcohol become acetaldehyde?

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Analyzing engineered Bacillus subtilis under the microscope.

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The liver can fully metabolize acetaldehyde, but the gut isn’t properly equipped to do the sameWhen you drink, most of the alcohol you consume gets digested in the liver using a two-step process (see diagram). Each step requires a different enzyme produce by your liver. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) converts ethanol into acetaldehyde by removing hydrogen atoms—a process called oxidation.Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) then further oxidizes acetaldehyde into acetate by adding an oxygen atom, producing a more stable and innocuous compound.However, some of the alcohol you drink never reaches your liver. Instead, it is metabolized in your gut, in large part by the microbes that reside there. Some microbes in the gut microbiome are equipped with the first enzyme, ADH, and can convert alcohol into acetaldehyde. But in contrast to your liver, they don’t make enough of the second enzyme, ALDH, to convert acetaldehyde into acetate. This is the major cause of acetaldehyde buildup in your body (Salaspuro, 1996).Thus arises a clear hypothesis: If we can equip the gut microbiome to break down acetaldehyde into acetate, we can support the body’s ability to minimize the buildup of this toxic byproduct. While the liver is fully capable of metabolizing acetaldehyde, the gut is not—and that gap makes this approach especially valuable for those planning to have a drink or two.

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The Solution

Probiotics can be engineered to break down acetaldehyde in the gutIf you’re trying to enable the gut microbiome to break down acetaldehyde, the most straightforward approach would be to make a bunch of the same enzyme your liver uses (ALDH) and deliver it to the gut, mimicking exactly what your body already does so effectively. Unfortunately, in this case (and most cases really) we can’t just eat an enzyme to equip our bodies with new traits. Enzymes are proteins, and most proteins you consume will break down very quickly as food in your stomach. Once broken down they lose their function.But our scientists knew three very interesting things: There are probiotic bacteria that can survive the harsh environment of the stomach unharmed. Many bacteria are capable of making ALDH – the very enzyme our livers use to break down acetaldehyde.We can use genetic engineering to create a probiotic bacteria with the ability to make ALDH!So rather than trying to solve the problem with an enzyme that won’t survive in the gut, we can instead use genetic engineering to build a probiotic bacteria that not only makes the enzyme but can also deliver it safely to where it's most needed to break down acetaldehyde!Though the actual building and testing behind our engineered ZB183™ strain took years, here is what we did on a basic level: We started with a natural probiotic bacteria called Bacillus subtilis. Humans have been intentionally consuming B. subtilis as a probiotic in supplements and fermented foods (e.g. natto, kombucha, etc.) for centuries. B. subtilis also has the natural ability to pass through your stomach acid unharmed and make enzymes in your gut (citation). We then used a process naturally honed by bacteria to insert the instructions for making ALDH into the bacteria’s genome, carefully selecting a location that optimizes the expression of this enzyme. The result was ZB183™ – a probiotic strain of B. subtilis that is identical in every way to the one humans already consume, but with one additional trait: the ability to break down acetaldehyde.

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Data & Validation

Our engineered probiotic has been tested in the lab for safety and functionalityOnce ZB183™ was built, we needed to ensure that it was safe, and that it worked as intended.SafetyWe subjected ZB183™ to years of laboratory testing and review by America’s top food toxicologists, the results of which confirmed it to be completely safe and FDA-compliant. The data from these tests has been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Toxicology.Now that we have confirmed our genetically engineered probiotic is safe and works as intended, we make sure this is true of every batch. Pre-Alcohol undergoes rigorous quality testing at every stage, from probiotic biomass to the final product, ensuring safety, purity, and efficacy. We transparently publish our standards for each test on our Quality page which can be found here.

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FunctionalityTo confirm that ZB183™ worked as intended, we tested its ability to make ALDH and break down acetaldehyde. Over a series of laboratory tests where we compared it to the unedited B. subtilis strain, we confirmed that our Pre-Alcohol Probiotic was highly effective at producing ALDH. We also confirmed that while the control strain broke down almost no acetaldehyde, ZB183™ was able to break down more acetaldehyde than you could ever encounter when drinking. We published a paper containing the data from these tests, and it can be found in the peer-reviewed PLOS One journal.. As scientists we appreciate that every body is different and so there are no silver bullets in biology. Even though we’ve proven that the product can reliably provide the function of helping to metabolize acetaldehyde, we don’t know for sure that it will be perceived as valuable for everyone. However, we do know from customer use data that it does appear to provide a benefit to the vast majority of users (i.e. >95%). And with millions of bottles sold, that’s a lot of happy customers!ZB183™ was our first proof of concept on a bigger journey to unlock the immense potential of safely and consciously-built genetically engineered microbes.

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Inside ZBiotics’ lab in Mountain View, California

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Founded by Scientists

Who are we? The very same people who did the research and built this technology: the ZBiotics team. We pride ourselves on the fact that we are a team founded and led with science at our core. Our technology is developed in-house by our own scientists in our own microbiology lab. This integrated approach allows us to create the best products available — products that marry cutting edge technology with innovative product design.Our founder, CEO, and inventor of the primary technology underlying Pre-Alcohol is Dr. Zack Abbott. Zack’s background is as a microbiologist; he received his PhD in Microbiology & Immunology from the University of Michigan. After that, he worked designing clinical trials for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies prior to starting ZBiotics to bring the idea of genetically engineered probiotics to the world.To learn more, read about our founding story or meet the team.

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You probably have some questions

Check out our FAQs to find answers to common questions and feel free to reach out if you have more.

All FAQs

When you're drinking. The earlier the better.The probiotic in Pre-Alcohol needs time to “wake up” in your gut, so we say the earlier the better if you can remember it. We drink Pre-Alcohol just before going out – right before our first drink. But it should be active if you drink it any time during the day or evening. So whether it’s a few hours before drinking, right with your first drink, or even if you’ve already enjoyed a round or two, go for it.

The probiotic in Pre-Alcohol is likely to stay in your body for 18-24 hours after you drink it. So one bottle will cover you for a whole day, even if you're starting with brunch mimosas followed by evening plans later on!

Yes. Pre-Alcohol is fully FDA-compliant for safety and adheres to all regulatory requirements for sale in the U.S.Note that FDA compliance is not FDA approval. FDA approval is a process reserved for drug products. Pre-Alcohol is a food/beverage product and has not been approved as efficacious for any purpose by the FDA.FDA-compliant for safety means that we’ve satisfied all regulatory requirements to ensure Pre-Alcohol is safe and can be legally sold in the United States. That means that all our manufacturing is conducted in an FDA-registered food-grade facility according to Good Manufacturing Practices compliant with 21 CFR 117. It also means that our novel ingredient – Bacillus subtilis ZB183™ – has been extensively tested and is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use.

No.Pre-Alcohol will not affect your level of intoxication. Pre-Alcohol does not decrease your blood alcohol level, nor does it make alcohol any safer.All the same rules about alcohol safety apply.  Don’t get behind the wheel, don't operate heavy machinery, and don't drink too much. Alcohol is still dangerous on its own (citation).

That's not how it's designed.We intentionally designed Pre-Alcohol so that it would not change your microbiome. We purposefully built our probiotic using a base bacteria that is well-adapted to passing straight through you and not colonizing your gut.This creates a few likely benefits: (1) your microbiome remains unchanged; (2) the interaction between our probiotic and your gut should remain consistent and predictable; and (3) because we’re not trying to change your microbiome, we don’t need to use an excessive amount of probiotic per serving.

The science behind

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Sugar-to-Fiber

A probiotic that turns sugar into fiber – built with genetic engineering by a team of microbiologists.

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Learn the science in 90 seconds

How it works

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How it works

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The Problem

The American diet doesn’t support a healthy gut microbiome. On average, our diets contain too much sugar and not nearly enough fiber.

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The Solution

Sugar-to-Fiber takes some of that extra sugar you don’t need and turns it into a beneficial prebiotic fiber called levan.It does this by producing an enzyme called levansucrase, which takes a common form of dietary sugar called sucrose – also known as table sugar – and converts it into levan fiber.

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The Result

The result is unique: your microbiome gets more of what it needs and less of what it doesn’t, all without changing your diet.

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The Impact

The primary benefits of Sugar-to-Fiber relate to microbiome health. Sugar-to-Fiber is unlikely to break down enough sugar to impact things like caloric intake, blood sugar, or weight. But it can impact your gut health. Sugar-to-Fiber provides exactly what we know makes your microbiome healthier: more fiber & fiber diversity, diverted intestinal sucrose, and gradual delivery of fiber throughout the day.And the benefits of a healthier microbiome for your body are innumerable: better digestion, immune health, gut-lining integrity, bowel function, microbiome diversity, nutrient absorption, and more.

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As with introducing anything new to the gut microbiome, you may experience an adjustment phase when starting to use Sugar-to-Fiber. Gas, bloating, and changes in stool can all be signals that your gut is recalibrating and that the product is working (learn why here). If this is your experience, mild discomfort is totally normal and should be temporary. Stay hydrated and contact us with questions or concerns.

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The Problem

We need more fiberFiber plays an important role in our health, but most of us aren’t getting enough fiber in our modern diets. We need 25-30 grams of fiber per day, but about 95% of us don’t meet that goal (citation). There are likely a few reasons why we don’t get enough fiber, and they vary from person to person. One big factor is the overall fiber content of many of the foods we consume. Processed foods (think white bread, pasta, etc.) are often convenient and accessible, but they tend to use refined grains,  which have far less fiber than their whole-grain counterparts. It’s also not just about eating healthier. If you steer clear of processed foods you are likely still at risk of not meeting your daily fiber needs. It may seem obvious that ultra processed foods tend to be low in dietary fiber, but did you know that popular, seemingly healthy food trends also make it difficult to get enough fiber in your diet? Notably, carb-reducing, gluten-free and keto diets are notorious for low fiber intake. Regardless of what you eat, it’s unlikely that any of us will meet the recommended daily dose of fiber. It takes a true concerted effort to include fiber rich foods in our diets.

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Analyzing Bacillus subtilis probiotic biomass in our lab in Mountain View, California.

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We need more diverse fibers
The story isn’t just about more fiber. There are actually many different types of dietary fibers that provide varying health benefits. Important characteristics include whether or not a fiber is soluble and whether or not a fiber is fermentable. When a fiber is insoluble (does not dissolve in water) it acts as a bulking agent, speeding up the rate of digestion, whereas a soluble fiber tends to dissolve into a gel-like substance that actually slows down the rate of digestion. Insoluble fibers play a role in bowel regularity and easing constipation, while soluble fibers provide benefits such as increased nutrient absorption and lowered cholesterol. Soluble fibers can also be fermentable, meaning that they feed the gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem of microbes that impact everything from our gastrointestinal health to our mental health. We also call fermentable fibers ‘prebiotics’ because they support a healthy and balanced gut microbiome. It’s clear that there are many benefits to fibers in our diet, so when we say we aren’t getting enough it means two things: We need more total fiber.We need more fiber diversity.While it takes effort to get more fiber in our diet, it takes even more effort to make sure we get a diversity of fiber types.

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The Solution

We eat plenty of sugar but not enough fiberWhile we don’t get enough fiber, the modern diet tends to provide us with an excess of sugar. So what if we use that sugar to make more fiber? Because fiber molecules are just long chains of sugar, that’s easier to do than you’d think! Chemically speaking, sugars and fibers are both carbohydrates—also known as saccharides. The difference between them is how many molecular building blocks make up the final product. Sugars are either a single building block (monosaccharide) or 2 building blocks linked together (disaccharides). Table sugar (sucrose)—the sugar found in your pantry and in many of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts we consume—is a disaccharide. It is made up of 2 building blocks: 1 glucose and 1 fructose. Fibers, on the other hand, are made up of 10 or more molecules (polysaccharides). For example, cellulose—the fiber found in leafy greens—is made up of many individual glucose molecules chained together. Our scientists understood that the building blocks of sugar and the building blocks of fiber are the same. So we asked ourselves, “Is there a way to convert some of the sugar we consume into the fiber that we need?” The answer we came up with is the unique ingredient in Sugar-to-Fiber: our proprietary probiotic, Bacillus subtilis ZB423™ (“ZB423™).Introducing Bacillus subtilis ZB423™, the key ingredient in Sugar-to-FiberUsing genetic engineering, our team of PhD microbiologists took a normal probiotic bacteria you likely eat every day (the species Bacillus subtilis) and engineered it to convert sugar into fiber steadily throughout the day. The resulting probiotic bacteria is ZB423™.The DNA we introduced into ZB423™ enables this unique probiotic to produce levansucrase, a functional molecule (enzyme) that can do two important actions:Break apart table sugar (sucrose) into its molecular building blocks (glucose and fructose)Reroute the fructose and use it to build a rare fiber called levan.The production of levansucrase by ZB423™ literally turns sugar (sucrose) into fiber (levan). And just like our Pre-Alcohol probiotic (ZB183™), this engineered bacteria can deliver that particularly useful enzyme directly to where it is needed most: the gut. Also, by using a probiotic,  we enable the conversion of sugar into fiber slowly throughout the day. This maximizes the benefit in the body and delivers the fiber in a way that your microbiome prefers, rather than all at once. Break apart table sugar (sucrose) into its individual sugars (glucose and fructose)Reroute the fructose and use it to build a rare fiber called levan.This probiotic is engineered to literally turn sugar (sucrose) into fiber (levan). As with our Pre-Alcohol probiotic, we engineered a bacteria to deliver an enzyme directly to where it is needed most. Also - by using a probiotic bacteria to deliver levansucrase, it can convert sugar into fiber slowly throughout the day. This maximizes the benefit in the body and delivers the fiber in a way that your microbiome prefers.

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Sugar-to-Fiber is engineered to make a rare, prebiotic fiber called levan
As mentioned above, the levansucrase builds a fiber called levan. Levan is a fructan, which means it is a fiber made up of fructose molecules. So when we say it reroutes fructose, that is because it can literally pull fructose away from sucrose and chain it with other fructose molecules until they build a fiber. But why levan? First of all, this fiber is highly fermentable, so it can be used as food for the other microbes in your gut. This makes levan a prebiotic— able to support a healthy gut microbiome. Second, levan is a soluble fiber, and we know soluble fibers support our overall health. Third, levan is not very accessible in a Western diet. It is more common in other countries like Japan where dishes like natto (fermented soybeans) are a good source of levan. Because we don’t consume much of it, adding a source of levan production to your gut inherently increases the diversity of fiber you are consuming. When we consume diverse fermentable fibers, we also encourage a diverse or balanced gut microbiome! You can read more about that in our previous blog article, where we explain the importance of supporting the gut microbiome with a diversity of fibers.The Result: your body gets more of what it needs and less of what it doesn’t, creating a path to gut health from the foods you already eat that wasn’t possible before Sugar-to-Fiber.

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Data & Validation

Our engineered probiotic has been tested in the lab for safety and functionalityAs with our Pre-Alcohol probiotic ZB183™, once ZB423™ was built, we needed to ensure that it was safe and that it worked as intended. SafetyWe subjected ZB423™ to years of laboratory testing and review by America’s top food toxicologists, the results of which confirmed it to be completely safe and FDA-compliant. The data from these tests has been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Applied Toxicology.Now that we have confirmed our genetically engineered probiotic is safe and works as intended, we make sure this is true of every batch. Sugar-to-Fiber undergoes rigorous quality testing at every stage, from probiotic biomass to the final product, ensuring safety, purity, and efficacy. We transparently publish our standards for each test on our Quality page which can be found here.

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FunctionalityTo confirm that ZB423™ worked as intended, we tested its ability to make levansucrase, break down sucrose, and produce levan. Over a series of laboratory tests where we compared it to the unedited B. subtilis strain, we confirmed that ZB423™ was highly effective at breaking down sucrose using expressed levansucrase and converting the fructose molecules into levan fiber.  One of the tests we ran was our levansucrase activity assay, which mixes sucrose and ZB423™ to show the activity of ZB423™-produced levansucrase. You can see that after twenty minutes there is a significant decrease in sucrose, combined with an increase in free glucose. As a reminder, the levansucrase enzyme cleaves sucrose into glucose and fructose, and then stacks the fructoses together to make levan fiber. This leaves the glucose free. To quantify the activity of the enzyme, we measure the amount of free glucose released over time after inputting a known quantity of sucrose. This free glucose is therefore a proxy for measuring levan fiber production.As scientists we appreciate that every body is different and science is not one-size-fits-all. Even though we’ve proven that the product can reliably express the enzyme that converts sugar into fiber, that’s just the start. Over the ensuing months we will be publishing more data on how Sugar-to-Fiber works, hoping to share, to educate, and not to overwhelm. In the meantime, we thank you. By using Sugar-to-Fiber, you’re at the forefront of GMO technology, experiencing the benefits of cutting-edge science for yourself.The road aheadAs we continue to explore the challenges of modern life, it’s clearer to us now more than ever that there is real need for a new generation of probiotics—built with purpose, based in science. And at ZBiotics, we are dedicated to bringing that next generation to you, and providing the information you need to decide whether you’d like to choose any of them to incorporate into your life.Now for the first time ever, by adding Sugar-to-Fiber to our lineup you have more than one choice. There are now TWO genetically engineered probiotics on the market. So whether you already love us for Pre-Alcohol or you are trying us out for the first time with Sugar-to-Fiber, we are so excited for you to join us.

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Inside ZBiotics’ lab in Mountain View, California

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Founded by Scientists

Who are we? The very same people who did the research and built this technology: the ZBiotics team. We pride ourselves on the fact that we are a team founded and led with science at our core. Our technology is developed in-house by our own scientists in our own microbiology lab. This integrated approach allows us to create the best products available — products that marry cutting edge technology with innovative product design.Our founder, CEO, and inventor of the primary technology underlying Pre-Alcohol is Dr. Zack Abbott. Zack’s background is as a microbiologist; he received his PhD in Microbiology & Immunology from the University of Michigan. After that, he worked designing clinical trials for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies prior to starting ZBiotics to bring the idea of genetically engineered probiotics to the world.To learn more, read about our founding story or meet the team.

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You probably have some questions

Check out our FAQs to find answers to common questions and feel free to reach out if you have more.

All FAQs

When you mix Sugar-to-Fiber into your drink, the probiotic bacteria are naturally dormant and in a protective layer called the endospore (often simply just referred to as a spore). The bacteria in this spore form can travel safely through your stomach and make it to the intestines where they will wake up and start producing the enzyme (levansucrase) within a short period of time. After that, the enzyme is capable of breaking down the table sugar (sucrose) you consume into its two individual components: glucose and fructose. It then uses the free fructose to make levan, a rare and beneficial fiber that supports a healthy and diverse microbiome! After 18-24 hours most of our Sugar-to-Fiber bacteria will leave your body, so it’s best to take the probiotic daily to get a consistent benefit.

You likely haven’t heard of levan because it is so rare in western diets. It is what is called a fructooligosaccharide (fiber made up of fructose molecules) and is similar in composition to a very popular dietary fiber called inulin. While they

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[H1] Pre-Alcohol

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Pre-Alcohol

ZBiotics® Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Drink breaks down an unwanted alcohol byproduct called acetaldehyde – the primary culprit behind rough mornings after drinking.

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[H3] Ingredients

Water, Natural Flavors, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Chloride, Bacillus subtilis ZB183™Manufactured for: ZBiotics Company, 44 Montgomery St, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104

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Proudly GMO

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How it works

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Drink a Pre-Alcohol

For best results, make Pre-Alcohol your first drink of the night.

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Drink responsibly

Whether it’s a glass of wine with dinner or going out with friends, pace yourself, hydrate, and get a good night’s sleep.

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Enjoy tomorrow

Seize your next day—hit the gym, get outside, play with the kids—make the most of it.

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A friendly reminder

Alcohol will still probably affect your well-being and your sleep. A healthy breakfast and coffee should have you up and running by mid-morning.

As with introducing anything new to the gut microbiome, you may experience an adjustment phase when starting to use Sugar-to-Fiber. Gas, bloating, and changes in stool can all be signals that your gut is recalibrating and that the product is working (learn why here). If this is your experience, mild discomfort is totally normal and should be temporary. Stay hydrated and contact us with questions or concerns.

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Allergen information

[IMG: Gluten free]

Gluten free

[IMG: Nut free]

Nut free

[IMG: Dairy free]

Dairy free

[IMG: Soy free]

Soy free

[IMG: Sugar free]

Sugar free

[IMG: Shellfish/Fish free]

Shellfish/Fish free

[IMG: Third-party tested]

Third-party tested

[IMG: Gluten free]

Gluten free

[IMG: Nut free]

Nut free

[IMG: Dairy free]

Dairy free

[IMG: Soy free]

Soy free

[IMG: Sugar free]

Sugar free

[IMG: Shellfish/Fish free]

Shellfish/Fish free

[IMG: Third-party tested]

Third-party tested

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1,450 verified

5 star reviews

All reviews

[H3] “Solid product that does what it says it’s supposed to do. Worth every penny.”

– Matthew (Brooklyn, NY)

[H3] “This product is a fail safe for having a great time and fearing for the next day. Especially when you have to deal with your kids the next day!”

– Michal (Frankfort, IL)

[H3] “I cannot begin to explain how amazing this stuff is. It’s the perfect thing that you need for either a night out with the girls or a big trip where you plan on having a lot of alcohol. I will never not have a bottle handy.”

– Emily (Canby, OR)

[H3] “I'm usually skeptical of supplements doing what they claim, but this one works, so I've bumped up the frequency of my order.”

– Neil (San Francisco, CA)

[H3] “I won’t go to a wedding without a pair to slip the couple!”

– Joseph (Minneapolis, MN)

[H3] “I will never go to a special occasion or function without having one before. It’s nice to wake up with my four kids and feel like a million bucks! My friends and family are hooked now too.”

– Jackie (Mesa, AZ)

[H3] “I was convinced that this didn’t work, until the day I didn’t take it. Now it’s my go-to pregame shot.”

– Victor (Eastvale, CA)

[H3] “It was a lifesaver at my bachelor party and it was a life saver at my wedding. You should have seen the look on my groomsmen's faces when I pulled out a fresh box of ZBiotics.”

– Christopher (Denver, CO)

[H3] “The miracles of modern technology are akin to magic and this is basically a magic potion.”

– Daniel (Oakland, CA)

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It's not magic,
It's science

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Alcohol produces acetaldehyde

When we drink, our bodies break down alcohol into an unwanted byproduct called acetaldehyde.That byproduct is largely responsible for how we feel the day after drinking.

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Acetaldehyde builds up in the gut

Acetaldehyde forms in two places: the liver and the gut. The liver produces an enzyme that removes it quickly. But the gut does not. So acetaldehyde builds up and lingers, filtering out into the rest of our body over time.

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Pre-Alcohol breaks it down

Pre-Alcohol helps our gut catch up by temporarily adding a probiotic that can break down acetaldehyde.This probiotic – Bacillus subtilis ZB183™ – has been engineered to produce the same type of enzyme as our liver: one that digests acetaldehyde.

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Proudly built with genetic engineering

The ZBiotics team invented the probiotic in Pre-Alcohol – Bacillus subtilis ZB183™ – using genetic engineering.Our approach to biotechnology is safety-first and grounded in the strictest ethical principles. We build responsibly or we don’t build at all. Pre-Alcohol undergoes rigorous quality testing at every stage, and we transparently publish our findings on our Quality page which can be found here.

[IMG: ZBiotics logo centered on plain background.]

As with introducing anything new to the gut microbiome, you may experience an adjustment phase when starting to use Sugar-to-Fiber. Gas, bloating, and changes in stool can all be signals that your gut is recalibrating and that the product is working (learn why here). If this is your experience, mild discomfort is totally normal and should be temporary. Stay hydrated and contact us with questions or concerns.

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Pre-Alcohol is loved by thousands

[IMG: Hand reaching for a white kitchen cabinet above a coffee pod machine on a granite counter.]

[H3] “After trying it once I was hooked”

- Jordyn H.

[H3] “One ZBiotics is all you need”

- Falon C.

[H3] “Pre-Alcohol supports my gut health”

- Marianna M.

[H3] “It quite literally has changed my life”

- Marcelo L.

[IMG: Man in black]

[H3] “Sounds too good to be true”

- Conrad D.

[IMG: Woman in kitchen holding ZBiotics bottle and wine glass.]

[H3] “You guys are going to love this”

- Mariah E.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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Lab Notes

Start Learning

[IMG: Does Alcohol Really Cause Dehydration?]

Health

[H2]
Does Alcohol Really Cause Dehydration?

[IMG: A nice cocktail for the summer]

Health

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6 Myths About How to Feel Better After Drinking

[IMG: How to Prepare for a Night of Drinking for a Better Tomorrow]

Health

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How to Prepare for a Night of Drinking for a Better Tomorrow

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You probably have some questions

Check out our FAQs to find answers to common questions and feel free to reach out if you have more.

All FAQs

Pre-Alcohol is a beverage containing a patented, genetically engineered probiotic (B. subtilis ZB183™) that helps you land on your feet the day after drinking alcohol. It’s engineered to break down an unwanted alcohol byproduct called acetaldehyde – the main culprit behind rough mornings after drinking.

Pre-Alcohol is designed to replicate the natural process of your liver, but do it in your gut. We took a normal probiotic bacteria you already eat every day, and we bioengineered it to produce the same type of enzyme your liver produces. That enzyme breaks down acetaldehyde – an unwanted byproduct of alcohol that accumulates in your gut when you drink.Your liver does not have access to your gut. But by drinking Pre-Alcohol, the goal is to augment your gut’s natural ability to digest acetaldehyde while you drink and while you sleep – helping you make the most of the next day. Just remember that Pre-Alcohol does not affect intoxication or make alcohol safer to drink, so always drink responsibly.

When you're drinking. The earlier the better.The probiotic in Pre-Alcohol needs time to “wake up” in your gut, so we say the earlier the better if you can remember it. We drink Pre-Alcohol just before going out – right before our first drink. But it should be active if you drink it any time during the day or evening. So whether it’s a few hours before drinking, right with your first drink, or even if you’ve already enjoyed a round or two, go for it.

The probiotic in Pre-Alcohol is likely to stay in your body for 18-24 hours after you drink it. So one bottle will cover you for a whole day, even if you're starting with brunch mimosas followed by evening plans later on!

Pre-Alcohol expires 18 months after bottling. Check the “BB” (Best-By) date on your bottle or box.Store Pre-Alcohol at room temperature with the cap on. Do not refrigerate. Do not open it until you’re ready to drink it; opening it could potentially let contaminants from the air into the bottle.

Yes. Pre-Alcohol is fully FDA-compliant for safety and adheres to all regulatory requirements for sale in the U.S.Note that FDA compliance is not FDA approval. FDA approval is a process reserved for drug products. Pre-Alcohol is a food/beverage product and has not been approved as efficacious for any purpose by the FDA.FDA-compliant for safety means that we’ve satisfied all regulatory requirements to ensure Pre-Alcohol is safe and can be legally sold in the United States. That means that all our manufacturing is conducted in an FDA-registered food-grade facility according to Good Manufacturing Practices compliant with 21 CFR 117. It also means that our novel ingredient – Bacillus subtilis ZB183™ – has been extensively tested and is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use.

No.Pre-Alcohol will not affect your level of intoxication. Pre-Alcohol does not decrease your blood alcohol level, nor does it make alcohol any safer.All the same rules about alcohol safety apply.  Don’t get behind the wheel, don't operate heavy machinery, and don't drink too much. Alcohol is still dangerous on its own (citation).

That's not how it's designed.We intentionally designed Pre-Alcohol so that it would not change your microbiome. We purposefully built our probiotic using a base bacteria that is well-adapted to passing straight through you and not colonizing your gut.This creates a few likely benefits: (1) your microbiome remains unchanged; (2) the interaction between our probiotic and your gut should remain consistent and predictable; and (3) because we’re not trying to change your microbiome, we don’t need to use an excessive amount of probiotic per serving.

Yes! We can confirm that Pre-Alcohol is free of all major allergens. Pre-Alcohol is tested, annually at minimum, against the allergens present in the manufacturing facility to ensure no cross-contamination. It does not contain:Dairy or milkEggsFish or shellfishTree nuts or peanutsWheatSoySesamePre-Alcohol also doesn’t contain artificial flavors, and is vegan and vegetarian friendly.Please note that our product contains live probiotic bacteria. As with any new food or supplement, it is always best to consult your medical doctor if you have any concerns related to your gut health with a new product.

Recommended pairing

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Balance your nights with better mornings

Pre-Alcohol helps your nights. Sugar-to-Fiber helps your mornings by turning excess sugar into prebiotic fiber. Together they support all-day performance.

Learn more about Sugar-to-Fiber

[IMG: ZBiotics]