In vitro approach to evaluate the fermentation pattern of inulin-rich food in obese individuals.

Alterations of the gut microbiome have been associated with obesity and metabolic disorders. The gut microbiota can be influenced by the intake of dietary fibres with prebiotic properties, such as inulin-type fructans. The present study tested the hypothesis that obese individuals subjected for 12 weeks to an inulin-enriched v. inulin-poor diet have differential faecal fermentation patterns. The fermentation of cellulose and inulin hydrolysates of six different inulin-rich and inulin-poor vegetables of both groups was analysed in vitro on faecal inocula. The results showed that the microbiota from obese patients who received a fructan-rich diet for 3 weeks produces more gas and total SCFA compared with the microbiota taken from the same individuals before the treatment. Obese individuals fed with a low-fructan diet produce less gas and less SCFA compared with the treated group. The present study highlighted profound changes in microbiota fermentation capacity obtained by prebiotic intervention in obese individuals, which favours the production of specific bioactive metabolites.

Nonconventional enzymatic method to determine free asparagine level in whole-grain wheat.

A new enzymatic methodology is herein proposed to measure free asparagine content in wheat grains and to predict their potential for Maillard reaction products. Our model estimates the acrylamide levels generated during the industrial heat treatment of whole-grain wheat based on free asparagine and glucose measurements. We selected fifteen wheat varieties currently grown in Belgium as benchmark for the present study. While conventional chromatographic methods require a long and tedious multi-step sample preparation, the proposed method takes advantage of being simple and quick. Statistical analysis of free asparagine content indicates that selected wheat varieties can be classified into seven content levels from 0.0149% to 0.0216% of the dry matter. Based on our analysis, the varieties KWS Ozon, Benchmark and Pionier appears to be the most suitable for thermal processing (i.e. cooking applications).