Baking & Snack - July 2018 - 68

PREBIOTICS

"Consumers are more informed and are proactively
using dietary strategies to manage their own health,"
said Julio Lopez, business manager extracts and powders, nutrition and research, ADM Nutrition. "The food
industry is interested in prebiotics for their application
and promise as functional ingredients in multiple applications. As we continue to build the scientific support on
the benefits of consuming prebiotic ingredients, we will
be able to grow the interest around these ingredients.
One of the main challenges ahead is the need to define a
regulatory framework around both pro- and prebiotics."

Understanding prebiotic fibers
Prebiotics are naturally found in some plants, including
bananas, chicory root, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes and
onions. They may be isolated from these sources and
sold as food ingredients.
All prebiotics are classified as fiber, which is the indigestible portion of plants. But all fibers are not prebiotics.
"Dietary fiber can be split into two categories: soluble
fiber, which is fermented by gut bacteria, and insoluble fiber, which is not fermentable and acts as roughage," said
Karen Scott, PhD, senior research fellow, Rowett Institute
of Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen,
Scotland. "Although prebiotics fit the chemical definition
of a soluble fiber, not all fibers are prebiotics because they
Prebiotics can add fiber to are not all metabolized by beneficial gut microbes."
To benefit the consumer only a small number of gut
baked goods, along with
microbes
should be able to break down the fiber. There
added texture and taste.
Fahrwasser - stock.adobe.com

68 Baking & Snack July 2018 / www.bakingandsnack.com

should also be an absence of undesirable side effects
such as excessive gas in the gut. Benefits vary by prebiotic and the probiotic being fed.
"Established health benefits of some specific prebiotics relate to improving calcium absorption, modifying
the glycemic index and enhancing colonic bacterial fermentation, thereby reducing gut transit time," Dr. Scott
said. "Such physiological benefits have positive effects on
osteoporosis, diabetes and colorectal cancer, respectively."
Peer-reviewed published clinical research on probiotics is more abundant than that on prebiotics; however,
research is expanding in terms of both volume and potential benefits. New research, for example, is investigating how prebiotics might be used in the management of
gut diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as obesity.
Most research to date has been conducted on prebiotics that influence the most prevalent indigenous gut
microorganisms, namely bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. These prebiotics are classified as fructooligosaccharides (FOS), galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and
inulin/chicory root fiber (a type of FOS), according to
the International Scientific Association for Probiotics
and Prebiotics (ISAPP). There is a growing list of fibers
exerting prebiotic tendencies. This list includes polydextrose, soybean oligosaccharides, isomalto-oligosaccharides, gluco-oligosaccharides, xylo-oligosaccharides,
palatinose, gentio-oligosaccharides, some starch de-

http://stock.adobe.com http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - July 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - July 2018