Progress 05/01/23 to 04/30/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Food ingredient companies, Food processors, Human nutrition practitioners Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In the Department of Food Science and Technology at Virginia Tech, a graduate student and a postdoctoral researcher are being trained to develop processes for modifying dietary fibers and lab skills to conduct in-vitro fermentations. They are also being trained to present outcomes to the public via oral and poster presentations and write scientific journal articles. Moreover, an undergraduate student was trained to conduct basic lab skills for sample preparation and data analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated to the public through presenting posters in professional meetings (2023 IFT Annual Meetings, and Virginia Tech Research Symposiums), publishing research articles in peer-reviewed journals, and discussing outcomes with professionals from the food industry. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Continue producing 100 IDFs with controllable and diverse chemical composition, microstructure, and surface chemistry using a chemical-assisted subcritical water process. 2) Evaluate the fermentability of IDFs using in-vitro fermentation through measuring the SCFA productions. 3) Assess the IDF's efficacy to modulate the gut microbiota using16S rRNA gene sequencing.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Eating dietary fiber is good for human health and can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, and digestive problems. When dietary fiber is broken down in the gut, it creates substances called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that help improve gut health and support the immune system. Insoluble dietary fibers (IDFs) are a type of fiber that aren't easily broken down in the gut and mainly help to bulk up stool and keep the digestive system moving. The goal of this project is to find a cost-effective way to make IDFs that can be easily broken down by gut bacteria, which would improve gut health. We also want to understand how the physical properties of these fibers affect how well they can be fermented by gut bacteria. By the end of this project, we will develop new methods for making fermentable IDFs that can benefit human health. The results will be good for people's health and the economy in the U.S., and will help the food processing industry turn waste products into valuable dietary fibers. Objective 1. Create more than 100 IDFs with controllable and diverse chemical composition, microstructure, and surface chemistry using a chemical-assisted subcritical water process. We developed a lactic acid (LA)-assisted subcritical water treatment (SWT) to modify IDFs from brewer's spent grain for improved functionality and gut fermentability. Modified IDFs were thoroughly characterized for their chemical and structural properties. The results revealed that increasing the treatment temperature and LA concentration reduced hemicellulose content in IDFs from 38.4 % to 0.7 %, alongside a decreased yield (84.8 %-51.4 %), reduced particle size (519.8-288.6 μm), and more porous structure of IDFs. These modifications were linked to improved functionalities, evidenced by the highest water and oil holding capacity increasing by 36 % and 67 %, respectively. Remarkably, the highest glucose adsorption capacity increased by 6.5 folds. Objective 2. Determine the relationship between the physicochemical properties of IDFs and their fermentability and ability to modulate the gut microbiota composition/metabolites. The original and modified IDFs were subjected to in-vitro fermentation to evaluate their fermentability by the gut microbiota. The fermentations were characterized by SCFA production, the main metabolites produced by IDF fermentation in the large intestine. The results showed that the SCFA profiles from different IDF fermentations were all dominated by acetic acid (AA), followed by butyric acid (BA), and then propionic acid (PA). The modified IDF samples had a higher fermentation efficiency compared with the original IDF sample (the control). Among the modified IDF samples, the IDF treated with 2% LA and 140°C demonstrated slow fermentability, producing more beneficial SCFAs in the distal colon, which can help prevent certain intestinal ailments. These findings highlight the potential of LA-assisted SWT in transforming BSG-derived IDF into a valuable functional food ingredient. Objective 3. Conduct a techno-economic analysis (TEA) to determine the economic feasibility of IDF production from agricultural processing byproducts. Haven't started yet.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Jin, Q., Feng, Y., Cabana-Puig, X., Chau, T.N., Difulvio, R., Yu, D., Hu, A., Li, S., Luo, X.M., Ogejo, J. and Lin, F., 2024. Combined dilute alkali and milling process enhances the functionality and gut microbiota fermentability of insoluble corn fiber. Food Chemistry, 446, p.138815.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Su, X., Jin, Q., Xu, Y., Wang, H. and Huang, H., 2024. Subcritical water treatment to modify insoluble dietary fibers from brewers spent grain for improved functionality and gut fermentability. Food Chemistry, 435, p.137654.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
X. Su, Q. Jin*, Y. Xu, H. Wang, H. Huang. Subcritical water treatment to modify insoluble dietary fibers from brewers spent grain for improved functionalities and intestinal fermentability. IFT23 Annual Meeting & Food Expo. Chicago, IL, 2023.
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