Oatmeal porridge: impact on microflora-associated characteristics in healthy subjects

• Published in: British journal of nutrition Vol. 115; no. 1; pp. 62 - 67
• Main Authors: Valeur, Jørgen, Puaschitz, Nathalie G., Midtvedt, Tore, Berstad, Arnold
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 14.01.2016
• Subjects: Adult; Avena; beta-galactosidase; beta-Galactosidase - metabolism; Diet; Dinoprostone - metabolism; Edible Grain; Excretion; Fatty Acids, Volatile - metabolism; Feces - chemistry; Female; Fermentation; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology; Health; Healthy Volunteers; Human and Clinical Nutrition; Humans; Inflammation - metabolism; Inflammation - prevention & control; Ingestion; intestinal microorganisms; intestines; Intestines - metabolism; Intestines - microbiology; lactulose; Lactulose - metabolism; Male; Middle Aged; nutritional intervention; oatmeal; Oats; Oil and gas production; Prebiotics; short chain fatty acids; Studies; urease; Urease - metabolism; Young Adult; Methane; PGE2; Microbiota; Hydrogen; Urease; SCFA; β-Galactosidase
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114515004213
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662

Oatmeal porridge has been consumed for centuries and has several health benefits. We aimed to investigate the effect of oatmeal porridge on gut microflora functions. A total of ten healthy subjects ingested 60 g oatmeal porridge daily for 1 week. The following microflora-associated characteristics were assessed before and after the intervention: intestinal gas production following lactulose ingestion, faecal excretion of SCFA and faecal levels of urease and β-galactosidase. In addition, rectal levels of PGE2 were measured. Microbial fermentation as evaluated by intestinal gas production and excretion of SCFA did not change significantly following the dietary intervention. However, faecal levels of β-galactosidase and urease decreased after eating oatmeal porridge (P=0·049 and 0·031, respectively). Host inflammatory state, as measured by rectal levels of PGE2, also decreased, but the change was not significant (P=0·168). The results suggest that oatmeal porridge has an effect on gut microbial functions and may possess potential prebiotic properties that deserve to be investigated further.