Association of beta-glucans and arabinoxylans

Abstract

The present invention relates to an association of beta-glucans from a first cereal and arabinoxylans from a second cereal different from the first cereal, and their use to improve the microbiota balance in human gut.

Claims

1. A method of improving the microbiota balance in human gut and digestive health in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of a first cereal comprising high beta-glucan barley flour and a second cereal comprising wheat, wherein the ratio of beta-glucans in the first cereal to arabinoxylans in the second cereal is from 1:1 to 4:1.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the beta-glucans in the first cereal to arabinoxylans in the second cereal is from 11:9 to 7:3.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the arabinoxylans have an average degree of polymerization between 3 and 50.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the arabinoxylans have an average degree of polymerization between 10 and 50.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said first cereal and said second cereal are provided in the form of a biscuit.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the biscuit comprises from 2-16 wt % of arabinoxylans and from 3-24 wt % of beta-glucans.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the biscuit comprises from 4-12 wt % of arabinoxylans and from 9-18 wt % of beta-glucans.

8. A method according to claim 5, comprising between 1.5 to 61.2% by weight of beta-glucans based upon a total weight content of the biscuit.

9. A method according to claim 8, comprising between 1.53 to 61.2% by weight of beta-glucans based upon a total weight content of the biscuit.

10. A method according to claim 9, comprising between 1.65 to 53.55% by weight of beta-glucans based upon a total weight content of the biscuit.

11. A method according to claim 5, wherein the biscuit is a sandwich cookie comprising at least one biscuit portion and a filling portion, wherein the first cereal is predominantly in the one or more biscuit portions and wherein the second cereal is predominantly in the filling.

Description

FIGURES

(1) The present disclosure will be described in relation to the following non-limiting figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows the prebiotic effect of whole barley flour, inulin, AX and cellulose obtained with a Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME) in vitro model.

(3) FIG. 2 shows the standard setup of the Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME), consisting of 5 sequential reactors which simulate the different regions of the human intestinal tract.

EXAMPLES

(4) The present disclosure will now be described in relation to the following non-limiting examples.

Example 1

In Vitro Effects of High Beta-Glucan Barley Flour and AX on Microbiota

(5) The effect of the same concentrations of whole barley flour and wheat AX on microbiota versus inulin (positive control) and cellulose (negative control) was investigated in a simple in vitro model. For this study, arabinoxylans presenting a degree of polymerization comprised between 3 and 50 were used. The typical short-term screening assay consists of the sequential incubation (in triplicate) of a representative dose of the ingredients under simulated conditions for: 1. Stomach (pH 2, pepsin); 2. Small intestine: addition of pancreatic enzymes and bile salts; 3. Large intestine with representative bacterial inoculum in basal medium. This bacterial inoculum derived from an already in vitro adapted microbial community from the ascending colon compartment in the SHIME system.

(6) The results presented in FIG. 1 show that AX has a mean Prebiotic Index close to inulin (0.25 and 0.27, respectively) whereas whole barley flour, which contains both beta-glucan 56.0% of the association of beta-glucan+AX from said whole barley flour) and AX (44.0% of the association of beta-glucan+AX from said whole barley flour) displayed higher activity compared to the two latter ingredients (0.43).

Example 2

Effects of High Beta-Glucan Barley Flour and AX on Microbiota Measured with a Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem In Vitro Model

(7) Some additional results were obtained with a Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem in vitro model (SHIME; Molly et al, 1993; Possemiers et al, 2008). The SHIME consists of a succession of five reactors simulating the different parts of the human gastrointestinal tract (see FIG. 2).

(8) The association of wheat AX and high beta-glucan barley flour, wheat AX alone, high beta-glucan barley flour alone, inulin and cellulose, were tested in the present in vitro model. The same AX as described in example 1 were used.

(9) In this experiment, the model was fed with 5 g of fibres per day, divided into 3 doses. For the association, 2.25 g of AX from wheat and 2.75 g of beta-glucans from barley were used (proportions (45/55)).

(10) An increase in Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, a slight decrease in Clostridia and no modification of Coliforms was observed, mainly with high beta-glucan barley flour alone and in combination with wheat AX.

(11) This allowed calculating the prebiotic index in the three parts of the colon (ascending, transverse and descending which is the more distal part). The values obtained are displayed in the table 1 below:

(12) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Association High wheat beta- AX + glucan high beta- Prebiotic barley glucan barley index value Wheat AX flour flour (45/55) Inulin Cellulose Ascending 0.28 11.42 7282 1.69 1.31 colon Transverse 0.09 5.06 4023 3.21 13.18 colon Descending 0.48 2.99 8109 4.11 9.38 colon

(13) The values obtained in this experiment show that the prebiotic index obtained for the association of wheat AX and high beta-glucan barley flour are much higher than those obtained for wheat arabinoxylans or high beta-glucan barley flour (45/55) alone and much higher than inulin. Moreover, the values obtained with the association are also much higher than the sum of the values obtained for arabinoxylans or high beta-glucan barley flour alone. Then it appears that the two ingredients wheat AX and high beta-glucan barley flour have a synergistic effect on the gut microbiota.

(14) Moreover, from the prebiotic index values and the short-chain fatty acid production, it appears that this combination of fibres has an effect spread all along the colon and reaching the more distal part of it (descending colon).

(15) The present fibre mix, combining wheat arabinoxylans and high beta-glucan barley flour display a synergic effect on microbiota balance, superior to the one of inulin. Moreover, the effect is prolonged and can be quantified in the distal parts of the colon.

(16) In another experiment, other types of beta-glucan sources were tested as well as various ratios of AX and beta-glucan: A high beta-glucan oat flour alone or combined with wheat AX in order to provide 2.25 g of AX from wheat and 2.75 g of beta-glucans from oat; A mix of wheat AX and barley beta-glucans providing for 5 g of fibers fed to the model, 1.5 g were AX from wheat and 3.5 g were beta-glucans from barley.

(17) In this trial, wheat AX, wheat AX combined with high beta-glucan oat flour and wheat AX combined with high beta-glucans barley flour (30/70) displayed a high growth of bifidobacteria. In general, this effect is mainly present in ascending colon. In the same way, high beta-glucan barley flour and the combination of wheat AX and high beta-glucan barley flour (30/70) induced a great increase in lactobacillus population (+2 to 3 logs of increase). Again for this experiment, the prebiotic index has been calculated for these different ingredients in the three parts of the colon. The results are presented in Table 2 below:

(18) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Association Association wheat AX + wheat AX + high beta- high beta- High beta- glucan High beta- glucan Prebiotic Wheat glucan barley flour glucan oat flour index value AX barley flour (30/70) oat flour (45/55) Inulin Cellulose Ascending 14.36 70.61 287.92 3.30 14.53 3.83 17.37 colon Transverse 3.49 74.47 409.22 3.71 5.38 4.02 11.71 colon Descending 7.17 146.43 109.78 10.27 14.52 2.24 5.90 colon

(19) This data shows that: The synergy of wheat AX and high beta-glucan barley flour is still present with a ratio of wheat AX and barley beta-glucans of 30/70 When wheat AX and high beta-glucan oat flour are combined there is no synergy of these two ingredients for prebiotic activity

(20) Thus, it can be concluded that combining wheat AX and barley flour high in beta-glucans leads to a synergistic activity on gut microbiota composition. This effect is observed on a wide range of wheat AX to barley beta-glucan ratio. This effect appears to be supported with barley flour; beta-glucans from oat do not lead to similar synergy between the two fibers. Finally, it is confirmed that the mix wheat AX and high beta-glucan barley flour induces a prebiotic on the whole length of the colon reaching the most distal part of it and this activity is much higher compared to inulin one.

Example 3

Biscuit According to the Invention

(21) Rotary moulded biscuits containing the mix of fibres of the invention have been produced at pilot scale. Here is the biscuit formula:

(22) TABLE-US-00003 Ingredient list Percentage in formula Whole grain Flour 2.77% Oat flakes and crisps 15.80% Vegetable oil 11.06% Soy lecithin 0.4% Wheat arabinoxylan flour 7.9% High beta glucan Barley flour 25.87% sucrose 13.43% Leavening agents 2.89% Salt 0.34% Water 19.16%

(23) Said dough before baking contains 7.5% of beta-glucan from barley and 6.7% of arabinoxylan from wheat.

Example 4

Sandwiched Cookies According to the Invention

(24) Rotary sandwiched cookies containing the mix of fibres of the invention have been produced at pilot scale. Here is the cookie formula of the sandwich cookie:

(25) TABLE-US-00004 Ingredient list Percentage in formula Whole grain flours mix 18.7% Oat flakes and crisps 10.1% Vegetable oil 9.8% Soy lecithin 0.1% High beta-glucan barley flour 34% sucrose 15.4% Leavening agents 0.8% Flavour 0.3% Salt 0.2% Water 10.6%

(26) And the filling formula of the sandwich cookie can be:

(27) TABLE-US-00005 Ingredient list Percentage in formula Cocoa powder 15.4% Sugar 43.8% Vegetable oil 26.4% Soy lecithin 0.1% Wheat arabinoxylan flour 14%

(28) Said dough biscuit before baking contains 6.92% of beta-glucan from barley and 3.48% of arabinoxylan from wheat in the filling of the dough biscuit before baking.

(29) The foregoing detailed description has been provided by way of explanation and illustration, and is not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Many variations in the presently preferred embodiments illustrated herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, and remain within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.