Revolutionising fibre intake - the wheat breakthrough

Enter Dr Brittany Hazard's team at the Quadram Institute, who have pioneered a high-resistant starch wheat variety. They conducted clinical studies in collaboration with Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals to explore if this wheat could bridge the fibre gap and combat diet-related health issues. 

The studies focused on how bread high in resistant starch affects blood sugar compared to regular white bread. Results showed potential for lower blood sugar responses, suggesting it resists digestion. An unexpected bonus was that high-resistant starch bread stayed fresher during chilled storage, hinting at commercial potential.

This wheat grain resists digestion in the small intestine, instead getting digested in the colon. Resistant starch is linked to better gut health, lower blood sugar, and increased satiety.

Hazard’s team uses wheat TILLING resources developed under the DFW programme to create wheat lines with various resistant starch mutations. BBSRC funding for the JIC Molecules from Nature strategic programme and Quadram Institute Food Innovation and Health strategic programme also supported this ground-breaking research.

Lastly, the team developed an assay to identify starch digestibility variations in the JIC Watkins landrace collection. This could uncover naturally high-resistant starch wheat lines, offering even more dietary fibre solutions.

In other research, scientists led by Rothamsted Research and JIC pinpointed some of the genes responsible for arabinoxylan (AX) content, the major component of dietary fibre in white flour. They've created high-fibre wheat with double the AX fibre content compared to regular white flour, promising healthier white bread. With colleagues at the LSHTM they’ve calculated that, with no change in eating habits and consuming regular products made from this healthier wheat would increase adult fibre consumption by about 1.5g/day.

Discover more in the full case study.