Design and development of a novel functional pasta: microbiological characteristics and impact on gut microbiota

Foods are not intended anymore only as sources of nutrients and energy, but also as factors that can influence health status. In this perspective, food properties can be improved by the addition of functional ingredients, e.g. probiotics and prebiotics, that can positively act on gut microbiota. Thus, the aim of the present research was the development of a novel whole grain functional pasta, added with the spore-forming probiotic Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 (BC30) and β- glucans from barley, and the investigation of its microbiological properties and effects on gut microbiota, in two contests, type 1 diabetes (T1D) and obesity condition. In particular, the stability of the probiotic strain was investigated during the development of the functional product, through conventional plating and qPCR analyses, providing evidences related to its viability following pasta-manufacturing and cooking processes, as well as to its survival to the transit through the gastrointestinal tract. In type 1 diabetes contest, a case-control study was firstly performed for assessing differences in gut microbiota composition between children at risk for T1D and healthy children. PCR-DGGE analyses showed that certain species were characteristics of the pre-diabetes condition. Then, the effects (i.e. modulation of microbiota composition and short-chain fatty acid production) of the administration of the functional pasta and its ingredients were investigated with respect to fecal microbiota from children with different susceptibility to T1D, using the TIM-2 model of the proximal colon. Specific diet-microbiota relationships were individuated, also expanding available information about the probiotic and prebiotic ingredients. Finally, the impact of the consumption of the functional pasta was investigated in a clinical trial involving overweight/obese subjects, through PCR-DGGE analyses and qPCR. The novel product did not substantially affect gut microbiota composition, and, in the total group of subjects, it did not caused increases of specific microbial groups reported to be modulated by the different functional pasta ingredients, due to the high inter-individual variability. Stratifying the population in smaller, more homogeneous groups, and correlating microbiological and clinical data allowed to unveil some interesting findings related to the new product. In conclusion, the present research indicated that the novel developed pasta constitutes a highquality product for its nutritional properties, and for positive effects observed both in vitro at the gut microbiota level, and from clinical and microbiological results. However, further studies will be helpful to deepen achieved knowledge on this new product.