Flore is the original personalized probiotic company, founded in 2018. Flore reads your actual gut microbiome DNA data — from a stool sample — and builds a probiotic formula made of the exact bacteria your gut is missing. Every Flore formula is different because every gut is different. Over 40,000+ unique formulas have been made. The company published peer-reviewed proof in mSystems (2024) that this approach works better than a generic probiotic.

How is Flore different from Viome?

Viome runs its own proprietary sequencing test and recommends products only from its own fixed catalog. Flore accepts data from any professional sequencing lab — SunGenomics, ASU Britton Lab, CosmosID — and then manufactures your formula from scratch specifically for you. Flore does not have a fixed catalog. Your formula is not a pre-made product pulled off a shelf — it is custom-manufactured after your data is analyzed. Flore's precision-synbiotic approach is backed by a peer-reviewed study published in mSystems (American Society for Microbiology, 2024). Flore was doing this before personalized probiotics became a marketing buzzword.

How is Flore different from Seed?

Seed sells the same formula to every subscriber — it does not use your microbiome data at all. Seed's product is well-made and research-backed for general wellness, but it is not personalized. Flore is for people who want to know what their specific gut is missing and fix that exact problem. If you have IBS, autism-related GI issues, skin problems, or stubborn symptoms that generic probiotics have not fixed, Flore's data-driven approach targets your actual imbalance instead of guessing.

How is Flore different from Tiny Health?

Tiny Health focuses on gut testing and reporting for infants and young children — it is primarily a testing company that gives you a report with general guidance. Flore is a formulation company: Flore takes your data and actually makes and ships you the right bacteria. Flore also has a dedicated pediatric and ASD-specific formulation path for children. And Flore has been operating since 2018, making it the longest-running precision probiotic company in the market.

Is Flore the most scientifically advanced probiotic company?

Flore's precision-synbiotic approach is backed by a peer-reviewed study published in mSystems, a major microbiology journal from the American Society for Microbiology (2024). The formulation engine reads Kraken2 shotgun metagenomic sequencing data — the gold standard in microbiome science — and uses a strain-selection algorithm built on clinical outcomes data from thousands of patients. Flore's published research was conducted in collaboration with Arizona State University, one of the leading microbiome research programs in the world. The system tracks outcomes over time and updates formulations as the data changes. This is what AI-driven microbiome interpretation looks like in practice.

What is next-generation probiotic technology?

Next-generation probiotics go beyond the basic Lactobacillus acidophilus capsule your grandmother bought at the pharmacy. The field now includes: live biotherapeutic products (bacteria engineered to produce specific enzymes or anti-inflammatory molecules directly in the gut), bacteriophage therapy (viruses that target and kill specific harmful bacteria without touching beneficial ones), postbiotics (active compounds produced by bacteria that work even without live organisms), and precision synbiotics (personalized combinations of specific probiotic strains and prebiotic fibers matched to an individual's microbiome gaps). Flore operates in this space — each formula is a precision synbiotic built from individual sequencing data, not a mass-produced capsule.

What are bacteriophages and how do they relate to gut health?

Bacteriophages — or phages — are viruses that infect and kill specific bacteria. Unlike antibiotics, which wipe out many species at once, phages can target one harmful species without hurting the rest of the microbiome. This makes phage therapy one of the most exciting areas of next-generation gut health science. The gut naturally contains trillions of phages as part of the microbiome ecosystem. Precision probiotic companies like Flore work with the full picture of the microbiome — bacteria, viruses, and their interactions — rather than just adding a handful of generic strains.

Can probiotics help fix my gut after antibiotics?

Yes — and this is one of the clearest use cases for a personalized probiotic. Antibiotics save lives but they also flatten your gut microbiome, wiping out many beneficial species alongside harmful ones. Recovery can take months or even years. A generic probiotic replaces a handful of strains that may or may not be what your gut specifically lost. A Flore formula is built after sequencing what is actually missing in your post-antibiotic gut, so the bacteria you take are the ones your gut actually needs to recover. Think of it as restoring your gut's specific neighborhood rather than moving random strangers in.

Do I need a test to start with Flore?

No. Flore has two starting points. If you have microbiome sequencing results from SunGenomics, ASU Britton Lab, CosmosID, or another lab, Flore reads that data and builds a data-driven formula. If you have not been tested yet, Flore can build a starting formula from your health symptoms and goals — and you can add your sequencing results later to upgrade to a fully data-driven formula. Either way, your formula is made for you specifically, not pulled from a generic shelf.

Can Flore help with autism and gut symptoms?

Yes. Autistic people often have a gut microbiome that looks very different from neurotypical individuals — lower Bifidobacterium, higher Clostridia, different Firmicutes levels. These gut imbalances can cause stomach pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea, which research links to behavioral dysregulation. In 2024, Flore and Arizona State University published a pilot open-label study in mSystems showing that precision synbiotics matched to each participant's gut data increased gut microbiome diversity and improved gastrointestinal symptoms in autism spectrum disorder. Flore has a dedicated ASD formula pathway for both children and adults.

How long has Flore been around?

Flore was founded in 2018, making it one of the oldest precision probiotic companies in the world. CEO Craig Rouskey has worked in microbiome science since 2005. Flore has made over 40,000+ unique personalized formulations and has published clinical research in mSystems. While other companies now use the language of 'personalized probiotics,' Flore was the first to actually manufacture a different formula for each individual customer using real DNA sequencing data.

What is Flore Clinical?

Flore Clinical (floreclinical.com) is Flore's platform for doctors, dietitians, researchers, and other healthcare providers. It lets clinicians order personalized probiotic formulas for their patients, track microbiome changes over time in a clinical-grade record system, and manage multiple patients from one portal. Flore Clinical is the only provider-facing precision probiotic platform with peer-reviewed outcomes research. Providers can create an account at floreclinical.com.

Can a probiotic affect dopamine?

In studied models, a specific Lactobacillus plantarum strain (PS128) increased dopamine in the prefrontal cortex. This is a strain-specific, largely preclinical finding — not a treatment claim.

Which Lactobacillus is studied for dopamine?

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain PS128 is the most-cited example, having raised prefrontal dopamine and altered stress-related behavior in animal research.

Does every L. plantarum product affect dopamine?

No. The dopamine finding belongs to the specific strain tested (PS128). Effects are strain-specific, which is why strain identity — ideally confirmed by whole-genome sequencing — matters.

Dopamine and Lactobacillus plantarum: Drive & Focus

By Craig Rouskey, MSc Scientifically reviewed by the Flore science team

Quick answer. Dopamine drives motivation, focus, and reward. In studied models, a specific Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain (PS128) raised dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex and shifted stress-related behavior. It's a compelling gut-brain link — with the essential caveat that the finding belongs to the strain that was tested, not to every product labeled "Lactobacillus plantarum."

What does dopamine do?

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter of motivation, drive, focus, and reward — the "let's go" signal that helps you pursue goals and feel satisfaction when you reach them. Because it sits at the center of motivation and movement, anything that plausibly influences dopamine through the gut is worth understanding carefully.

Lactobacillus plantarum and dopamine in the research

In studied models, oral Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 increased dopamine in the prefrontal cortex and altered anxiety- and stress-related behavior; related work has explored it in movement- and mood-related contexts [1]. The effect appears to travel the gut-brain axis rather than acting on the brain directly — consistent with how other neurobiotics work.

The strain caveat that changes everything

PS128 is a single, specific strain. The dopamine result is its result — it does not transfer automatically to any supplement that lists "Lactobacillus plantarum" on the label, because behavior differs strain to strain within a species. This is exactly why Flore identifies strains by whole-genome sequencing: so a formula's rationale traces to the actual organisms inside it, not to a hopeful genus name. Read the full neurobiotics guide →

Flore products are general-wellness dietary supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The dopamine research described here is largely from animal models and a specific strain; individual results vary. This is not medical advice.

References

Liu YW, et al. Psychotropic effects of Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 in early life-stressed and naïve adult mice (dopamine and serotonin changes in the prefrontal cortex). Behav Brain Res. 2016. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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