The Sourdough School

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Learn to bake, eat, and share the healthiest bread in the world. Discover how to bake as Lifestyle Medicine from the walled gardens of Dr Vanessa Kimbell’s beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire in the UK, where we train healthcare professionals, teach bakers, and support individuals to bake personalised bread using nutrigenetics and gut health assessments.

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354 - ‘In vitro investigation into the potential prebiotic activity of honey oligosaccharides’. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 53(8):2914-21

Reference Number: 354

Year: 2005

Authors: Sanz M.L. et al

Link: Link to original paper

Health: Gut Microbiome - Creating Healthier Bread to Support Optimal Gut Health

Nutrition: Prebiotic

Inclusions: Honey

Summary

The effect of honey oligosaccharides on the growth of fecal bacteria was studied using an in vitro fermentation system. Prior to treatment, glucose and fructose (31.73 and 21.41 g/100 g of product, respectively) present in honey, which would be digested in the upper gut, were removed to avoid any influence on bacterial populations in the fermentations. Nanofiltration, yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) treatment, and adsorption onto activated charcoal were used to remove monosaccharides. Prebiotic (microbial fermentation) activities of the three honey oligosaccharide fractions and the honey sample were studied and compared with fructooligosaccharide (FOS), using 1% (w/v) fecal bacteria in an in vitro fermentation system (10 mg of carbohydrate, 1.0 mL of basal medium). A prebiotic index (PI) was calculated for each carbohydrate source. Honey oligosaccharides seem to present potential prebiotic activity (PI values between 3.38 and 4.24), increasing the populations of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, although not to the levels of FOS (PI of 6.89).

 

What does this mean for a Baker?

This study is a very important study which looks at the prebiotic effects of consuming honey as part of a healthy diet. The study found that consuming honey lead to an increased growth rate in both Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species within the gut microbiome. This may help to increase diversity within our gut microbiomes. Why not try making this Sesame Seed and Honey Sourdough Loaf  (which was part of a collaboration with Toast)?

Take a look at our courses at The Sourdough School

All reasonable care is taken when advising about health aspects of bread, but the information that we share is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

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