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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #297325
Title: Digestive and physiological effects of a wheat bran extract, arabino-xylan-oligosaccharide, in breakfast cereal

Author
item MAKI, KEVIN - Biofortis Clinical Research
item GIBSON, GLENN - University Of Reading
item DICKMANN, ROBIN - Kellogg Company
item KENDALL, CYRIL W - University Of Toronto
item CHEN, C-Y OLIVER - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item COSTABILE, ADELE - University Of Reading
item ALMEIDA, NELSON - Kellogg Company
item JENKINS, DAVID - University Of Toronto
item ZELLO, GORDON - University Of Saskatchewan
item BLUMBERG, JEFFREY - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University

Submitted to: Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/14/2012
Publication Date: 11/15/2012
Citation: Maki, K.C., Gibson, G.R., Dickmann, R.S., Kendall, C.C., Chen, C., Costabile, A., Almeida, N.G., Jenkins, D., Zello, G.A., Blumberg, J.B. 2012. Digestive and physiological effects of a wheat bran extract, arabino-xylan-oligosaccharide, in breakfast cereal. Nutrition. 28:1115-1121.

Interpretive Summary: Several disease states, including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, and some intestinal cancers, appear related to the composition and metabolism of bacteria in the colon. These two aspects of gut bacteria can be influenced by “prebiotics,” non-digestible food ingredients selectively metabolized by colonic bacteria that have the capacity to improve health. The prebiotic arabinoxylans (ABX) are one of the main constituents of the cell wall of cereal grains and a major source of fiber in our diet. We conducted a randomized clinical trial for 3-weeks in 55 healthy adults to determine whether a wheat bran extract containing ABX would have a prebiotic effect when consumed in a ready-to-eat cereal in two dose levels. Compared to a wheat-based cereal that contained no ABX, we found that this ingredient selectively increased the amount of bifidobacteria, a gut species that has been shown to inhibit the growth of harmful bacterial, decrease serum cholesterol, and improve immune responses. Unexpectedly, we observed increase in LDL-C with the high-dose ABX, a finding which requires further investigation. We also found that ferulic acid, an antioxidant compound bound within the ABX, was released from its matrix and absorbed resulting in a dose-dependent increase in its plasma concentration. In this way, ABX may contribute to antioxidant defenses in the body.

Technical Abstract: We assessed whether a wheat bran extract containing arabino-xylan-oligosaccharide (AXOS) elicited a prebiotic effect and influenced other physiologic parameters when consumed in ready-to-eat cereal at two dose levels. This double-blind, randomized, controlled, crossover trial evaluated the effects of consuming AXOS at 0 (control), 2.2, or 4.8 g/d as part of ready-to-eat cereal for 3 weeks in 55 healthy men and women. Fecal microbial levels, postprandial serum ferulic acid concentrations, and other physiologic parameters were assessed at the beginning and end of each condition. The median bifidobacteria content of stool samples (log10/grams of dry weight [DW]) was found to be significantly higher in the subjects consuming the 4.8-g/d dose (10.03) than in those consuming 2.2 g/d (9.93) and control (9.84). No significant changes in the populations of other fecal microbes were observed, indicating a selective increase in fecal bifidobacteria. Postprandial ferulic acid was measured at 120 min at the start and end of each 3-wk treatment period in 37 subjects at least 50 y old and significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner (end-of-treatment values 0.007, 0.050, and 0.069 mg/mL for the control, AXOS 2.2 g/d, and AXOS 4.8 g/d conditions, respectively. These results indicate that AXOS has prebiotic properties, selectively increasing fecal bifidobacteria, and increases postprandial ferulic acid concentrations in a dose-dependent manner in healthy men and women.