Prebiotic potential of barley derived β-glucan at low intake levels: A randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study

This randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study aimed to evaluate the in vivo prebiotic potential of barley beta-glucan. Fifty-two healthy volunteers aged 39-70 years were randomly assigned to consume daily a cake containing 0.75 g of barley beta-glucan or a placebo for 30 d. Stool samples were collected before, during and 2 weeks after the intervention for bacterial enumeration. Gastrointestinal side effects were recorded during the treatment period. In older subjects (>= 50 years old), barley beta-glucan induced a strong bifidogenic effect and an increase of bifidobacteria into traceable range in cases of no detectable baseline levels. A concurrent significant increase in bacteroides was also observed in this age group. Ingestion of the experimental food resulted in no undesirable gastrointestinal side effects in older subjects. We concluded that the daily intake of a cake containing barley beta-glucan is well-tolerated and demonstrated significant bifidogenic properties in older healthy volunteers consuming their usual diets. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.