Centre for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Porto, Portugal.
Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Eur J Nutr. 2020 Aug;59(5):1951-1961. doi: 10.1007/s00394-019-02045-x. Epub 2019 Jul 19.
Wheat bran fibre has a beneficial effect on gastrointestinal function, but evidence for wheat germ is scarce. Accordingly, we evaluated the effects of daily intake of wheat germ on gastrointestinal discomfort and gut microbiota by adding wheat germ to refined (white) wheat bread, the most consumed bread type. We hypothesised that an improvement in the composition of refined bread could beneficially affect intestinal health without compromising consumers' acceptance.
Fifty-five healthy adults were recruited for a randomised, double-blind, crossover, controlled trial comprising two 4-week intervention periods separated by a 5-week washout stage. During the first 4-week period, one group consumed wheat bread enriched with 6 g of wheat germ and the control group consumed non-enriched wheat bread.
Wheat germ-enriched bread was well-appreciated and the number of participants that demonstrated minimal gastrointestinal improvements after wheat-germ intake was higher than in the control arm. Importantly, intake of wheat germ-enriched bread decreased the perceived gastrointestinal discomfort-related quality of life (subscale worries and concerns) over refined white bread. The improvements in the gastrointestinal function were accompanied by favourable changes in gut microbiota, increasing the number of Bacteroides spp. and Bifidobacterium spp.
Adding wheat germ to industrially made white bread without altering sensory properties may promote a healthy gut bacterial microbiota and the gastrointestinal health.
麦麸纤维对胃肠道功能有益，但关于麦胚的证据很少。因此，我们通过在精制（白）小麦面包中添加麦胚来评估每日摄入麦胚对胃肠道不适和肠道微生物群的影响，精制小麦面包是最常食用的面包类型。我们假设，改善精制面包的成分可以有益地影响肠道健康，而不会影响消费者的接受度。
招募了 55 名健康成年人参加一项随机、双盲、交叉、对照试验，包括两个 4 周的干预期，中间间隔 5 周的洗脱期。在第一个 4 周的干预期内，一组人食用添加了 6 克麦胚的麦胚强化面包，对照组则食用未强化的麦胚面包。
麦胚强化面包受到了好评，而且在摄入麦胚后胃肠道不适得到改善的参与者数量多于对照组。重要的是，与精制白面包相比，食用麦胚强化面包可以降低与胃肠道不适相关的生活质量感知（担忧和顾虑子量表）。胃肠道功能的改善伴随着肠道微生物群的有利变化，增加了拟杆菌属和双歧杆菌属的数量。
在不改变感官特性的情况下，将麦胚添加到工业生产的白面包中可能会促进健康的肠道细菌菌群和胃肠道健康。
