The Digest

Reviewed by: Taylor Berggren, MS, RDN

Seed produces DS-01® Daily Synbiotic, a daily synbiotic formulated with a combination of probiotic strains and a prebiotic, and marketed for everyday gut health support. Pendulum, by contrast, focuses on products built around specific next-generation bacterial strains, with formulations designed to target defined metabolic and gut health pathways based on emerging clinical research.

What kind of probiotic is Seed?

Seed’s DS-01® is a broad-spectrum synbiotic. It combines twenty-four probiotic strains with a polyphenol-based prebiotic blend, designed to support general gut and systemic health.

Broad-spectrum probiotics prioritize diversity. The idea is simple: include many strains at once to broadly support digestion, immunity, and overall gut balance. This approach has been the foundation of probiotic supplements for decades.

The reality of most probiotic strains

The majority of strains in Seed’s formula come from familiar probiotic families like Lactobacillus (now reclassified into several related genera) and Bifidobacterium. These microbes have a long history, which is why they appear so often in supplements.

They’re also the same families of bacteria commonly found in fermented foods.

The Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera include species used in yogurt and kefir cultures, vegetable fermentations like kimchi and sauerkraut, and fermented beverages such as kombucha. These lactic acid-producing bacteria are excellent at preserving food and creating flavor — which is exactly why they’ve been used for generations.

Seed's product DS-01® is largely built on a probiotic playbook including strains considered longtime staples. Seed’s innovation is largely in formulation and delivery. Its capsule-in-capsule design, attention to survivability, and sustainability initiatives are meaningful advances in how traditional probiotic strains are packaged and delivered.

Pendulum was built to move past the limitations of traditional probiotics by working with strains that were historically impossible to commercialize, bringing new science to a field standing on 40 to 50 year old strain science. These microbes are strict anaerobes — bacteria that cannot survive in oxygen — and they live primarily in the colon, where many of the most important metabolic and gut-barrier processes occur.

Why Pendulum’s approach is different

Pendulum’s strains are specifically selected for what they do. They include microbes like Akkermansia muciniphila, Anaerobutyricum hallii (sometimes called Eubacterium hallii), Clostridium beijerinckii, and Bifidobacterium infantis.

These bacteria are not found in yogurt, kombucha, or kimchi. They play specialized roles in producing compounds like short-chain fatty acids, supporting the gut lining, and influencing metabolic signaling.

Because these microbes are extremely sensitive to oxygen, they require a specialized manufacturing process, stabilization, and delivery methods. Pendulum developed proprietary technology to grow and protect them so they reach the colon alive — where they’re meant to function.

Just as important, Pendulum Glucose Control has been studied in a targeted human clinical trial focused on blood glucose control. The goal isn’t just general “gut support,” but measurable metabolic impact.

What this means if you’re choosing between Seed and Pendulum

Seed’s DS-01® is an example of a traditional, broad-spectrum synbiotic. If you’re looking for general digestive support and value strain diversity rooted in long-established microbes, it may fit your routine.

Pendulum represents a next-generation probiotic approach grounded in modern microbiome science, novel strains, and targeted function. Pendulum formulations provide foundational gut health support with live Akkermansia muciniphila plus targeted metabolic support.

This isn’t a debate about which brand is better at packaging familiar probiotics. It’s a question of what you’re looking for in a probiotic product.

*for the nutritional management of type 2 diabetes