Pilot Study: Comparison of Sourdough Wheat Bread and Yeast-Fermented Wheat Bread in Individuals with Wheat Sensitivity and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Abstract

Many patients suspect wheat as being a major trigger of their irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. Our aim was to evaluate whether sourdough wheat bread baked without baking improvers and using a long dough fermentation time (>12 h), would result in lower quantities of alpha-amylase/trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) and Fermentable, Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides and Polyols (FODMAPs), and would be better tolerated than yeast-fermented wheat bread for subjects with IBS who have a poor subjective tolerance to wheat. The study was conducted as a randomised double-blind controlled 7-day study (n = 26). Tetrameric ATI structures were unravelled in both breads vs. baking flour, but the overall reduction in ATIs to their monomeric form was higher in the sourdough bread group. Sourdough bread was also lower in FODMAPs. However, no significant differences in gastrointestinal symptoms and markers of low-grade inflammation were found between the study breads. There were significantly more feelings of tiredness, joint symptoms, and decreased alertness when the participants ate the sourdough bread (p ≤ 0.03), but these results should be interpreted with caution. Our novel finding was that sourdough baking reduces the quantities of both ATIs and FODMAPs found in wheat. Nonetheless, the sourdough bread was not tolerated better than the yeast-fermented bread.

Wheat bread enriched with raspberry and strawberry oilcakes: effects on proximate composition, texture and water properties

“…Carbohydrates are particularly important in cereals, which usually contain about 50-80% carbohydrates on a dry basis, among which starch is the most common cereal polysaccharide and is the main reserve of food providing mass nutrients and energy in the human diet [46]. Differences in the content of macronutrients, however, did not affect the energy value of the obtained bread, which were similar to those described in the literature [47][48][49]. The consumers' acceptance of food is based not only on the assessment of nutritional value, but also on sensory properties.…”

Use of Sourdough in Low FODMAP Baking

“…The use of this zero FODMAP sourdough in low FODMAP rye bread making involves the addition of unfermented rye flour, which is fermented for only a short time [ 65 ]. Nevertheless, the choice of appropriate raw materials and the use of FruA-positive and mannitol-fermenting lactobacilli allows fructan degradation in rye and rye sourdoughs for the production of bread with a low content of fructans and mannitol but a comparable fiber content when compared to regular bread [ 66 , 67 , 68 ].…”

Differential Physiological Responses Elicited by Ancient and Heritage Wheat Cultivars Compared to Modern Ones

“…The ancient or heritage cultivars are often stone-milled and, for the preparation of the bread, they are leavened using traditional yeasts (S. cerevisiae) or even the sourdough, very rich in lactobacilli capable of effectively degrading one of the inflammatory components of the wheat proteome: the ATI proteins [50]. Interestingly, sourdough baking seems to reduce the quantities of both ATIs and fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols (FODMAPs), short chain carbohydrates present in wheat that are poorly absorbed and contribute to intestinal bloating [51]. On the other hand, modern grains are often refined and used for the production of processed or ultra-processed foods, with the addition of additives, such as vital gluten, which drastically worsen their nutritional values, sometimes making them fall into the worst category of the NOVA classification for processed food (NOVA 4) [52].…”

“…Relevant biological activity is confined to ATIs in gluten-containing cereals, while gluten-free cereals display no or minimal activities. ATIs may also act as interfering contaminant of gluten and have been identified to play a role in the occurrence of a broad range of disorders, including CD, non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), and functional gastrointestinal disorders [51,61,62].…”