Fermented artichoke backed for prebiotic bread potential

The study, published in LWT - Food Science and Technology​​, tested whether the addition of fermented Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus​ L.) tubers improved the quality of wheat breads - finding that not only did their addition result a better product but that they also functional prebiotic fibres.

Led by Elena Bartkiene from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences the research team reported that the addition of lactic acid bacteria fermented Jerusalem artichoke (JA) to wheat bread resulted in lower levels of acrylamide formation and the addition of prebiotic fibres to the product without impacting measures of quality.

"The use of lactic acid fermentation allows to enrich wheat bread with 15 % of fermented JA without deterioration of bread quality parameters,"​ said the authors.

"Thus, there is a market for novel bakery products produced by using alternative ingredients, such as the JA, which contains natural prebiotic compounds like inulin, and is highly appreciated and well tolerated by a majority of patients with diabetes,"​ they added.

Study details​

The researchers found that fermentation by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produce more L-(+)-lactic acid than its D-(-)-isomer - and is therefore safer for JA fermentation than spontaneous fermentation.
They added that concentrations of biogenic amines (BA) - that might be significant to food safety and human health - in all analysed fermented JA products were far below levels of risk.

Source: LWT - Food Science and Technology​
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.lwt.2013.05.015​
"Effect of fermented Helianthus tuberosus​ L. tubers on acrylamide formation and quality properties of wheat bread"
Authors: Elena Bartkiene, Ida Jakobsone, et al