The digestion-simulating machine is the only one of its kind in Estonia and, according to researchers, represents progress in studying digestion and the fiber that supports it.

With the device, it is possible to examine processes that occur in the human gut, including the formation and release of intestinal gases and health-supporting compounds.

"The intestine is placed inside it, we take our own microbiota, we take stool samples and extract the microbes from them and put them into the system. Then they adapt in the system and over the course of several weeks we observe how the foods we provide affect the microbes," said Toonika Rinken, senior research fellow in food chemistry at the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

Ultimately, researchers will learn which prebiotics – fiber that feeds beneficial bacteria in the gut — might be suitable for different consumer groups. It is possible to distinguish both risk groups and groups of people based on age.

"In older people the microbiota is different, in younger people it is different, and these different microbes prefer different prebiotics," Rinken said.

Helena Anderson, associate professor at the Estonian University of Life Sciences. said: "Probiotics available in pharmacies, all starter cultures used in food technology, whether in the production of dairy products, all these cultures should be tested. We cannot say that a yogurt is healthy without proving its health-promoting properties with this machine. We need to assess their real effect, whether they truly do something beneficial for us or whether we only hope and believe that they do."

An advantage of the laboratory device is that there is no need to conduct human trials, and experiments can be more easily repeated. Researchers will begin scientific experiments in March.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!