Madrid
Updated:05/05/2022 15:42h
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Drinking a large glass of natural horchata for three days is enough to produce changes in the intestinal microbiota associated with a healthier microbial profile. This has been demonstrated by the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), in a test with 35 volunteers who drank 300 milliliters of unpasteurized horchata dailywith all its starch and no added sugar, for three days.
The results, published in the scientific journal Nutrients, suggest that the consumption of this traditional product made from tiger nuts can improve digestive health and general health.
The study carried out by IATA-CSIC analyzed the intestinal microbiota, the microorganisms present in the digestive system, 35 volunteers before and after consumption of unpasteurized natural horchata with no added sugar.
This traditional product is rich in resistant starch, in oleic acid (like olive oil) and provides antioxidants (polyphenols) present in the tiger nut, from where it is obtained.
The volunteers (all of age and in good health) were offered a large glass of unpasteurized natural horchata (300 milliliters) for 3 days, and stool samples were obtained before and after taking it. Analysis of the gut microbiota by microbial DNA sequencing showed three profiles of microorganisms in the volunteers before the study. These profiles changed in all cases after the consumption of horchata, being enriched with various beneficial bacteria and butyrate precursors, a substance with multiple benefits for the intestine and the immune system.
“In just 3 days, the bacterial populations of all the volunteers changed towards healthier microbial patterns, similar to those promoted by the Mediterranean or vegetarian diet,” says Gaspar Pérez, the researcher at the CSIC at IATA who leads the study.
Specifically, after the trial, the researchers observed an increase in the presence of bacteria such as Akkermansia (associated with weight loss), Christenellaceae and Clostridiales, in addition to Faecalibacterium (associated with glucose control), Bifidobacterium and Lachnospira.«It is about species that already existed in the digestive system of the volunteers”, recalls Gaspar Pérez, “but that the consumption of natural horchata has promoted, improving the profile of the intestinal microbiota of the people who participated in the trial” .
In 2017, his research group at the IATA-CSIC already published a study that revealed the greater presence of nutrients in natural, unpasteurized horchata. Now, inspired by other work carried out by the IATA-CSIC researcher M. Carmen Collado, in which they already detected changes in the intestinal flora in three days when consuming walnuts, they have carried out this trial to check if the same thing happened with this traditional product from the Valencian orchard.
After the brain, the digestive system contains the largest number of nerve connections in the body, as well as 70% of the immune cells. Therefore, the correct functioning of the intestine has a significant influence on the state of health and general well-being. “In our study we have seen that natural horchata without sugar stimulates the proliferation of beneficial bacteria that help maintain proper digestive function”, highlights the CSIC scientist. Thus, its consumption can improve digestive health and general health.
After the results obtained, the research team composed of Gaspar Pérez, M. Carmen Collado, Marta Selma and Izaskun Garcia highlights the need to continue studies to establish these beneficial effects more precisely, in addition to expanding them to other types of horchata.
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