Scientists have found that the new sweetener increased the number of several beneficial human gut microbes.
The study also found that sweeteners may improve gut health.
People love sweet treats, as seen in the vast variety of sodas, candies, and baked goods sold around the world. However, consuming too much artificial sweeteners and white sugar can have negative effects on your health. Researchers looking for better sweeteners recently found Journal of Agro-Food Chemistry of American Chemical Society (ACS)The low-calorie mixture is as sweet as table sugar and, in laboratory tests, feeds the “good” gut microbes.
The popularity of artificial sweeteners has skyrocketed because they allow individuals to enjoy sweets without the accompanying calories. Studies on both suggest that some of them may stimulate appetite, leading to increased food consumption, weight gain, and other adverse health effects.
As a result, scientists began looking for low-calorie or very sweet compounds derived from natural sources as potential alternatives. Low-calorie sugars with potent prebiotic activity, but not sweet enough to replace table sugar. These sugars are found in mammalian milk. Alternatively, mogrosides, which are 200-300 times sweeter than sugar, are found in the Lo Han Guo extract. However, these extracts may contain off-flavors that can be removed using enzymes.
So F. Javier Moreno and colleagues want to take advantage of the best aspects of both natural substances by using enzymes to modify mogrosides while simultaneously generating galacto-oligosaccharides for novel low-calorie sweeteners. I thought.
The researchers started with lactose and mogroside V (the main mogroside in monk fruit). When they added the β-galactosidase enzyme, the researchers obtained a mixture containing mostly galacto-oligosaccharides and small amounts of modified mogrosides. , suggesting that it may be accepted by consumers.
In test-tube experiments, the new sweetener increased levels of several beneficial human gut microbes, including Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species. The increased product indicates that the mixture may have prebiotic effects on the gut microbiota. The researchers say the new sweetener shows promise in these initial analyses, and the next step is to study the substance’s effects on human gut health in more detail.
References: “Galactooligosaccharides and Modified Mogrosides” by Ana Muñoz Labrador, Rosa Leblon Aguilar, Jesús E. Quintanilla Lopez, Placido Galindo Ilanzo, Silvana M. Ascarate, Sofia Corida, Vasiliki Kaclimanidu Prebiotic Potential of New Sweeteners Based on Physiology,” Virginia Garcia-Cañas, Lisa Methven, Robert A. Rastor, F. Javier Moreno, Oswald Hernandez-Hernandez, 13 July 2022, Available here. Journal of Agro-Food Chemistry.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c01363
This study was funded by Optibiotix Health Plc (York, UK), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. One of the authors of this study is employed by Optibiotix Health Plc.
