An ex vivo study appearing in Nutrients provided evidence that BeniCaros, an upcycled soluble carrot fiber branded by NutriLeads, was linked to probiotic benefits across a variety of individual microbiota compositions.
 
The prebiotic stimulated growth of common beneficial gut bacteria, significantly increased metabolite production, and created a more consistent gut microbiota composition among samples from 24 healthy subjects.
 
“It is remarkable that a small serving of [a human equivalent dose of] 300 milligrams of BeniCaros can display such consistent prebiotic effects despite the fact that composition of gut microbiota is unique to every individual,” said Annick Mercenier, Ph.D., NutriLeads co-founder and senior director of R&D. “Variability in the gut microbial communities in individuals renders it challenging to demonstrate efficacy of functional ingredients. The high consistency effect of BeniCaros on microbial composition and metabolite production could support more predictable health benefits.”
 
The new study compared the prebiotic effects of three dietary fibers of various structural complexity (specificity). Fecal samples of each subject were incubated for 48 hours with 0.3 grams and 1..5 gram dosages of BeniCaros (medium-high specificity), 1.5 grams of inulin (low specificity), and 1.5 grams of xanthan (high specificity).
 
The researchers used high-throughput ex vivo SIFR technology from Cryptobiotix SA, a gut digestion and fermentation simulator that generates predictive insights for clinical findings. The technology enabled the analysis of 24 individuals compared with conventional microbiota study methodologies which involve fewer subjects.
 
Selective Stimulation
 
The results illustrated how complexity of dietary fiber structures determine how selective the fermentation of bacterial communities can be. This can be used to target select beneficial bacteria common in the human microbiome, and can help ensure consistent prebiotic helath benefits across diverse populations.
 
BeniCaros stimulated taxa or species of bacteria present among human adults, resulting in significantly lower microbiota composition differences across the subjects. The homogenizing effect on the gut microbiota was dose-dependent.
 
BeniCaros increased 30 operational taxonomic units belonging to Bifidobacteriaceae (2), Bacteroidaceae (4), Acidaminococcaceae (1), unclassified Clostri diales (1), Lachnospiraceae (18), Ruminococcaceae (3), and Veillonellaceae (1), including OTUs of health-related species such as Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Anaerobutyricum hallii and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii.
 
“The goldilocks principle applies to BeniCaros,” said Ruud Albers, PhD, NutriLeads cofounder and chief scientific officer. “Its structure is not so simple that it can be fermented by multiple bacterial strains in the gut, nor is it so complex that it can only be used by few microbial communities. RG-I’s specificity is just right.”
 
All three compounds significantly increased short-chain fatty acid production, which plays a role in host-microbiome cross-talk that leads to health benefits. However, BeniCaros led to higher and more inter-individual consistent levels of short-chain fatty acids than the other fibers.
 
BeniCaros also demonstrated the lowest gas production, which often causes limitations on daily serving sizes due to bloating, gas, and discomfort in sensitive people.
 
“Our research clearly demonstrates the game-changing potential of BeniCaros,” said Joana Carneiro, PhD., NutriLeads CEO. “Its superior ability to consistently and beneficially modulate the gut microbiota enables product differentiation and BeniCaros’ very small serving size opens the door to innovation in functional foods, beverages and supplements.”