Tiny microorganisms are constantly making complex communities in our bodies. These communities, called microbiomes, are an intricate mix of many different microbial species.
The gut microbiome is perhaps the largest and most diverse of these. One of the helpful roles it plays is helping us digest carbohydrates, including allowing us to digest fibre.
According to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, we should be eating 30 grams of fibre per day, yet the National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows only about 4% of adults achieve this. Increasing fibre can reduce the risk of diet-related chronic diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.
The Quadram Institute (QI), a BBSRC strategically supported institute, has built a wealth of expertise and powerful models that can mimic the human gut and microbiome. Researchers and food scientists can use this infrastructure to develop innovative new products that will help us improve our gut health and overall wellbeing.
Fibre UP, founded by Paul McCreery, is collaborating with QI to improve their fibre-boosted soft drink. QI helped to finesse Fibre UP’s formula, increasing the amount of fibre while lowering the risk of bloating.
Microbiomes and carbohydrates: fuel for the healthy gut
We have several microbiomes, such as in our gut, on our skin, and in our mouth and nose. Microbiomes are made up of bacteria, fungi and viruses and are a mix of both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ microbes. A healthy microbiome is highly diverse, stable and resilient.
Researchers have conducted an immense amount of research on the gut microbiome but we’re still skimming the surface of its complexity. Every gut microbiome is unique, and it changes and adapts as we age, which can affect our health.
So much of our food contains carbohydrates, including bread, rice, beans, fruit, and vegetables. Fibre, which is a type of carb mainly in plant foods, cannot be digested by humans. This is where our gut microbiome comes in; gut microbes can feed on carbs and can break down fibre.
QI’s expertise spans across gut biology, food science, human health and disease. Dr Fred Warren leads a research group at QI focusing on how carbohydrates are broken down during digestion, how they impact our health and how gut microbes interact with them. He explains:
The microbiome breaks down carbohydrates in the large intestine, including dietary fibre, into short chain fatty acids, which benefit our health. Dietary fibre is food for the beneficial bacteria that live in our colon, which help us with reducing inflammation, resistance against infections, regulating our metabolism and protecting us against diseases.
Modelling human digestion
Simulating the complexity of human digestion is not easy. The temperature, nutrients, and gas types all need to be carefully controlled to accurately reflect the human gut.
QI has multiple models for this, ranging from their largest and most complex model, the Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem, to much smaller ones. QI’s model range means researchers can test many fibre types against many microbiomes quickly or they can do longer-term deep-dive experiments on a single microbiome.
While gut models are used globally, QI combines them with analysis platforms to give researchers powerful insights. Dr Warren says:
It’s the integration with the other platforms that is Quadram’s strength. We have a suite of analysis technologies: metabolomics, shotgun metagenomics, proteomics, plus the computational biology groups, all under one roof in one building working together. We’re also neighbours with the Norwich University Hospital Endoscopy Department and the National Institute of Health and Care Research funded clinical research facility, so we can take stool samples from clinical trial patients or endoscopy patients. There are very few other places that can do that.
Closing the UK fibre gap
Dr Warren’s team at QI is collaborating with Fibre UP, funded by Innovate UK. The collaboration used QI’s gut modelling infrastructure and expertise to refine their fibre-boosted soft drink.
Many existing fibre food products use inulin, an easy to incorporate but very short-chain fibre. Short-chain fibres are more rapidly fermented in our gut, producing more gas, which can cause bloating and abdominal pain. This limits the amount of inulin you can add to a product and may exclude consumers with existing gut issues, like irritable bowel syndrome, from benefitting.
The best fibre for Fibre UP
QI helped screen a wide range of longer-chain fibres to create blends that boosted the benefits while lowering risk of bloating and discomfort. Fibre UP currently contains 1 type of fibre, with future plans for using the developed fibre blends. This testing has enabled Fibre UP to contain 16 grams of fibre. That’s half of the recommended daily intake, helping consumers to bridge the fibre gap.
Fibre UP is available via their own site, Amazon, and will launch in supermarkets soon.
Fibre UP and QI are continuing to collaborate, with plans to create a new type of drink supporting fibre intake in the mornings. Read QI’s full case study.
QI is continuing to work with partners across academia and industry, helping to develop high quality and healthier foods. With their national capability in gut health and microbiome research, their tools will give new insights and accelerate product development.