Prebiotic inulin affects more gut bacteria than previously thought. This has been shown by a study published in the journal. Nature Communication. This discovery will help develop personalized nutritional supplements to improve the health of gut microbes.
Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the intestines. Inulin, one of the most popular prebiotics, is found in bananas, wheat, onions and garlic. Once in the large intestine, it is broken down and fermented by intestinal bacteria.
Research has shown that inulin may have positive effects on human health, reducing inflammation and reducing the risk of cancer. However, since there are approximately 100 trillion microbes in the human gut, it is currently impossible to predict how inulin will affect all this diversity. In a new study from the University of Vienna, scientists used bright nanoparticles to monitor the interaction of inulin with gut bacteria.
Analysis of stool from people taking inulin showed that the range of gut bacteria that can bind to inulin is much wider than previously thought. Scientists also found that the microbial response varies from person to person. These results highlight the importance of considering individual differences when developing nutritional supplements for gut bacteria.
“Inulin supplements have been on the market for many years, but there is no conclusive scientific evidence of their health benefits. We previously thought that inulin stimulated mainly bifidobacteria, the so-called good bacteria, but we now know that the action of inulin is much more complex.”
Previous scientists I learnedThat human gut bacteria slow the growth of harmful microbes by a thousandfold.