MU Develops Soy Energy Bar That’s Easier to Digest

First posted on 09-22-2008

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Soy products are noted for their health benefits, but they can leave consumers with intestinal bloating and discomfort due to indigestible carbohydrates contained in soy.

University of Missouri researchers have developed a soy protein energy bar fortified with a strain of probiotics ("friendly" bacteria similar to bacteria that already exist in the human intestinal tract).

“Soy foods are recognized as healthy because of their high content of polyunsaturated fats, fiber, minerals and other health benefits,” said Azlin Mustapha, food science researcher.

“However, intestinal bloating induced by consuming soy products can offset their favorable qualities,” she said.

“Our research was aimed at developing a dry powder ingredient containing functional probiotics, which could be used to fortify soy foods and reduce raffinose and stachyose, the two carbohydrates that humans cannot digest,” she said.

Researchers screened nine strains of probiotics for their ability to produce alpha-galactosidase, the enzyme that breaks down raffinose and stachyose.

The probiotics were encapsulated with a gel to assure their survival while in storage and after entering the human body. They were then freeze-dried to be easily incorporated into the energy bar recipe. The probiotics remained alive in large numbers for more than two months in this condition.

Fifty untrained panelists in a sensory test tasted small samples from three energy bars: one containing the encapsulated freeze-dried probiotics, one containing unencapsulated freeze-dried probiotics and a third with no probiotics.

“They could detect no difference in flavor or quality in the three,” Mustapha said.

There are no soy energy bars on the market today that contain probiotics, making this a novel product, she said.

“Freeze-dried microencapsulated probiotics may be a promising way to produce more functional soy food products without the unwanted side effects,” she said.