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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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385 - ‘Effect of inulin on the human gut microbiota: stimulation of Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii’. The British Journal of Nutrition. 101(4):541-50

Reference Number: 385

Year: 2009

Authors: Ramirez-Farias C. et al

Link: Link to original paper

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

Nutrition: Inulin | Prebiotic

Summary

Prebiotics are food ingredients that improve health by modulating the colonic microbiota. The bifidogenic effect of the prebiotic inulin is well established; however, it remains unclear which species of Bifidobacterium are stimulated in vivo and whether bacterial groups other than lactic acid bacteria are affected by inulin consumption. Changes in the faecal microbiota composition were examined by real-time PCR in twelve human volunteers after ingestion of inulin (10 g/d) for a 16-d period in comparison with a control period without any supplement intake. The prevalence of most bacterial groups examined did not change after inulin intake, although the low G+C % Gram-positive species Faecalibacterium prausnitzii exhibited a significant increase (10.3% for control period v. 14.5% during inulin intake, P=0.019). The composition of the genus Bifidobacterium was studied in four of the volunteers by clone library analysis. Between three and five Bifidobacterium spp. were found in each volunteer. Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Bifidobacterium longum were present in all volunteers, and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, Bifidobacterium animalis, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium dentium were also detected. Real-time PCR was employed to quantify the four most prevalent Bifidobacterium spp., B. adolescentis, B. longum, B. pseudocatenulatum and B. bifidum, in ten volunteers carrying detectable levels of bifidobacteria. B. adolescentis showed the strongest response to inulin consumption, increasing from 0.89 to 3.9% of the total microbiota (P=0.001). B. bifidum was increased from 0.22 to 0.63% (P<0.001) for the five volunteers for whom this species was present.

 

What does this mean for a Baker?

While this study is very interesting, it doesn’t provide any practical applications to baking. It helps to highlight the prebiotic action of insulin and the effects that this has on the diversity of our gut microbiomes, through enhancing the growth of certain strains of Bifidobacteria species.

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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