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Making better probiotics, a helping hand for friendly bacteria
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Society For General Microbiology
: 16 June, 2006 (New Product) |
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Asthma, eczema, bowel disease and other medical problems, which can be helped by taking probiotics, foods containing friendly bacteria, may be improved even further according to research announced at the Society for General Microbiology's 158th Meeting at the University of Warwick, UK. |
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Asthma, eczema, bowel disease and other medical problems, which can be helped by taking probiotics, foods containing friendly bacteria, may be improved even further according to research announced at the Society for General Microbiology's 158th Meeting at the University of Warwick, UK.
The market for milk-based products containing friendly bacteria, called probiotics, has increased explosively over the last few years. Live yoghurts have moved out of specialist health food stores and into our mainstream supermarkets, and other similar foods are following.
'The problem is that the friendly bacteria have a limited activity in all these products,' says Nedal Swidan, a researcher at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff. 'To be effective the bacteria have to survive passing through our stomach in sufficient numbers to have their beneficial effects. So we looked at ways to enhance the growth and survival of probiotic bacteria by pre-treating the milk'.
The scientists treated skimmed milk with a food enzyme called trypsin that can cut up the proteins in milk into smaller units, which are easier for bacteria to use as food. The researchers showed that they could reduce the time taken by the bacterium Bifidobacterium lactis to start growing by a staggering 70% and the enzyme treatment also increased the rate of growth of the bacteria.
'If we can enhance the growth of these friendly bacteria on a commercial scale then we could start seeing health improvements,' says Nedal Swidan. 'The presence of these bacteria in the gut has been shown to prevent problems including diarrhoea and bowel disease. Probiotic bacteria are also thought to boost our immune system and this may help in some related conditions such as eczema and asthma'. |
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