As presented recently by Dutch researchers at the Cereals & Europe meeting in Montpellier, France; the novel alpha-glucan produced by the bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri - Reuteran- may already be on its way into bakery and dairy products as a the new weight management ingredient.

Named Reuteran by the Dutch researchers, the glucan -alpha-1,4/1,6 glucan - has a molecular weight of 40 MDa and a degree of branching of about 16 per cent.

According to Martijn Noort from TNO Quality of Life:

Lactobacillus reuteri 121 (TNO strain) is able to produce glucans and fructans during fermentation, and that one of these glucans may induce satiation and favourably effect insulin and blood glucose levels in humans.

If used together the Lactobacillus and Reuteran would constitute a symbiotic ingredient, or the extracted and purified exopolysaccharides could be used as a prebiotic and/or functional ingredient."

Find more details from the full report.

[Photo Credit: Goodness Direct]