Postprandial Gastrointestinal Function Differs after Acute Administration of Sourdough Compared with Brewer's Yeast Bakery Products in Healthy Adults.

Background: Europeans consume large quantities of bakery products, although these are known as one of the food categories that potentially leads to postprandial symptoms (such as fullness and bloating). Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sourdough baked goods on gastric emptying and gastrointestinal fermentation and symptoms in healthy people. Methods: In a double-blind, randomized crossover study, 2 sourdough croissants (SCs) or 2 brewer's yeast croissants (BCs) were served as single meals to 17 healthy adults [9 women; age range: 18-40 y; body mass index range (in kg/m2): 18-24]. Gastric volume (GV) was evaluated by magnetic resonance to calculate gastric-emptying rate in the 3-h interval after croissant ingestion. A hydrogen breath test was performed to measure hydrogen production after SC and BC ingestion. Palatability and postprandial gastrointestinal symptoms (discomfort, nausea, fullness, and bloating) over a 4-h period after the meal were evaluated. The area under the curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the overall effects on all variables tested. Results: The total GV AUC was reduced by 11% during the 3 h after the consumption of SCs compared with BCs (P = 0.02). Hydrogen production during the 4-h interval after ingestion of SCs was 30% lower than after BCs (P = 0.03). SCs were rated as being >2 times as palatable as BCs (P < 0.001). The overall severity of postprandial symptoms was 36% lower during the 4 h after intake of SCs compared with BCs (P = 0.05). Conclusion: Sourdough bakery products could promote better postprandial gastrointestinal function in healthy adults and be more acceptable than those prepared with brewer's yeast. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03207516.

Cortical representation of different taste modalities on the gustatory cortex: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Right insular cortex is involved in taste discrimination, but its functional organization is still poorly known. In general, sensory cortices represent the spatial prevalence of relevant features for each sensory modality (visual, auditory, somatosensory) in an ordered way across the cortical space. Following this analogy, we hypothesized that primary taste cortex is organized in similar ordered way in response to six tastes with known receptorial mechanisms (sweet, bitter, sour, salt, umami, CO2). DESIGN: Ten normal subjects were enrolled in a pilot study. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a high resolution cortical registration method, and specialized procedures of feature prevalence localization, to map fMRI responses within the right insular cortex, to water solutions of quinine hydrochloride (bitter), Acesulfamate K (sweet), sodium chloride (salt), mono potassium glutamate + inosine 5' mono phosphate (Umami), citric acid (sour) and carbonated water (CO2). During an fMRI scan delivery of the solutions was applied in pseudo-random order interleaved with cleaning water. RESULTS: Two subjects were discarded due to excessive head movements. In the remaining subjects, statistically significant activations were detected in the fMRI responses to all tastes in the right insular cortex (p<0.05, family-wise corrected for multiple comparisons). Cortical representation of taste prevalence highlighted two spatially segregated clusters, processing two and three tastes coupled together (sweet-bitter and salt-umami-sour), with CO2 in between. CONCLUSIONS: Cortical representation of taste prevalence within the right primary taste cortex appears to follow the ecological purpose of enhancing the discrimination between safe nutrients and harmful substances.

Good adherence to mediterranean diet can prevent gastrointestinal symptoms: A survey from Southern Italy.

AIM: To evaluate how different levels of adherence to a mediterranean diet (MD) correlate with the onset of functional gastrointestinal disorders. METHODS: As many as 1134 subjects (598 M and 536 F; age range 17-83 years) were prospectively investigated in relation to their dietary habits and the presence of functional gastrointestinal symptoms. Patients with relevant chronic organic disease were excluded from the study. The Mediterranean Diet Quality index for children and adolescents (KIDMED) and the Short Mediterranean Diet Questionnaire were administered. All subjects were grouped into five categories according to their ages: 17-24 years; 25-34; 35-49; 50-64; above 64. RESULTS: On the basis of the Rome III criteria, our population consisted of 719 (63.4%) individuals who did not meet the criteria for any functional disorder and were classified as controls (CNT), 172 (13.3%) patients meeting criteria for prevalent irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and 243 (23.3%) meeting criteria for prevalent functional dyspepsia (FD). A significantly lower adherence score in IBS (0.57 ± 0.23, P < 0.001) and FD (0.56 ± 0.24, P < 0.05) was found compared to CNT (0.62 ± 0.21). Females with FD and IBS exhibited significantly lower adherence scores (respectively 0.58 ± 0.24, P < 0.05 and 0.56 ± 0.22, P < 0.05) whereas males were significantly lower only for FD (0.53 ± 0.25, P < 0.05). Age cluster analyses showed a significantly lower score in the 17-24 years and 25-34 year categories for FD (17-24 years: 0.44 ± 0.21, P < 0.001; 25-34 years: 0.48 ± 0.22, P < 0.05) and IBS (17-24 years: 0.45 ± 0.20, P < 0.05; 24-34 years: 0.44 ± 0.21, P < 0.001) compared to CNT (17-24 years: 0.56 ± 0.21; 25-34 years: 0.69 ± 0.20). CONCLUSION: Low adherence to MD may trigger functional gastrointestinal symptoms, mainly in younger subjects. Moreover, with increasing age, patients tend to adopt dietary regimens closer to MD.

The Bitter Taste Receptor Agonist Quinine Reduces Calorie Intake and Increases the Postprandial Release of Cholecystokinin in Healthy Subjects.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Bitter taste receptors are expressed throughout the digestive tract. Data on animals have suggested these receptors are involved in the gut hormone release, but no data are available in humans. Our aim is to assess whether bitter agonists influence food intake and gut hormone release in healthy subjects. METHODS: Twenty healthy volunteers were enrolled in a double-blind cross-over study. On 2 different days, each subject randomly received an acid-resistant capsule containing either placebo or 18 mg of hydrochloride (HCl) quinine. After 60 minutes, all subjects were allowed to eat an ad libitum meal until satiated. Plasma samples were obtained during the experiment in order to evaluate cholecystokinin (CCK) and ghrelin levels. Each subject was screened to determine phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) tasting status. RESULTS: Calorie intake was significantly lower when subjects received HCl quinine than placebo (514 ± 248 vs 596 ± 286 kcal; P = 0.007). Significantly higher CCK ΔT90 vs T0 and ΔT90 vs T60 were found when subjects received HCl quinine than placebo (0.70 ± 0.69 vs 0.10 ± 0.86 ng/mL, P = 0.026; 0.92 ± 0.75 vs 0.50 ± 0.55 ng/mL, P = 0.033, respectively). PTC tasters ingested a significantly lower amount of calories when they received HCl quinine compared to placebo (526 ± 275 vs 659 ± 320 kcal; P = 0.005), whereas no significant differences were found for PTC non-tasters (499 ± 227 vs 519 ± 231 kcal; P = 0.525). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that intra-duodenal release of a bitter compound is able to significantly affect calorie intake and CCK release after a standardized meal. Our results suggest that bitter taste receptor signaling may have a crucial role in the control of food intake.

The role of a pre-load beverage on gastric volume and food intake: comparison between non-caloric carbonated and non-carbonated beverage.

BACKGROUND: There is conflicting data on the effects of carbon dioxide contained in beverages on stomach functions. We aimed to verify the effect of a pre-meal administration of a 300 ml non-caloric carbonated beverage (B+CO2) compared to water or a beverage without CO2 (B-CO2), during a solid (SM) and a liquid meal (LM) on: a) gastric volume, b) caloric intake, c) ghrelin and cholecystokinin (CCK) release in healthy subjects. METHODS: After drinking the beverages (Water, B-CO2, B+CO2), ten healthy subjects (4 women, aged 22-30 years; BMI 23 ± 1) were asked to consume either an SM or an LM, at a constant rate (110 kcal/5 min). Total gastric volumes (TGV) were evaluated by Magnetic Resonance Imaging after drinking the beverage and at maximum satiety (MS). Total kcal intake at MS was evaluated. Ghrelin and CCK were measured by enzyme immunoassay until 120 min after the meal. Statistical calculations were carried out by paired T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The data is expressed as mean ± SEM. RESULTS: TGV after B+CO2 consumption was significantly higher than after B-CO2 or water (p < 0.05), but at MS, it was no different either during the SM or the LM. Total kcal intake did not differ at MS after any of the beverages tested, with either the SM (Water: 783 ± 77 kcals; B-CO2: 837 ± 66; B+CO2: 774 ± 66) or the LM (630 ± 111; 585 ± 88; 588 ± 95). Area under curve of ghrelin was significantly (p < 0.05) lower (13.8 ± 3.3 ng/ml/min) during SM following B-CO2 compared to B+CO2 and water (26.2 ± 4.5; 27.1 ± 5.1). No significant differences were found for ghrelin during LM, and for CCK during both SM and LM after all beverages. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in gastric volume following a 300 ml pre-meal carbonated beverage did not affect food intake whether a solid or liquid meal was given. The consistency of the meal and the carbonated beverage seemed to influence ghrelin release, but were unable, under our experimental conditions, to modify food intake in terms of quantity. Further studies are needed to verify if other food and beverage combinations are able to modify satiation.