Could breadfruit be the next superfood? Researchers say yes
Breadfruit is sustainable, environmentally friendly and a high-production
crop

Date:
September 17, 2020
Source:
University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
Summary:
A fruit used for centuries in countries around the world is getting
the nutritional thumbs-up from a team of researchers. Breadfruit,
which grows in abundance in tropical and South Pacific countries,
has long been a staple in the diet of many people. The fruit can
be eaten when ripe, or it can be dried and ground up into a flour
and repurposed into many types of meals.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A fruit used for centuries in countries around the world is getting the nutritional thumbs-up from a team of British Columbia researchers.


========================================================================== Breadfruit, which grows in abundance in tropical and South Pacific
countries, has long been a staple in the diet of many people. The fruit
can be eaten when ripe, or it can be dried and ground up into a flour
and repurposed into many types of meals, explains UBC Okanagan researcher
Susan Murch.

"Breadfruit is a traditional staple crop from the Pacific islands with
the potential to improve worldwide food security and mitigate diabetes,"
says Murch, a chemistry professor in the newly-created Irving K. Barber
Faculty of Science. "While people have survived on it for thousands of
years there was a lack of basic scientific knowledge of the health impacts
of a breadfruit-based diet in both humans and animals." Breadfruit can
be harvested, dried and ground into a gluten-free flour. For the project, researchers had four breadfruits from the same tree in Hawaii, shipped
to the Murch Lab at UBC Okanagan. Doctoral student Ying Liu led the study examining the digestion and health impact of a breadfruit-based diet.

"Detailed and systematic studies of the health impacts of a breadfruit
diet had not previously been conducted and we wanted to contribute to
the development of breadfruit as a sustainable, environmentally-friendly
and high-production crop," Liu says.

The few studies done on the product have been to examine the glycemic
index of breadfruit -- with a low glycemic index it is comparable to
many common staples such as wheat, cassava, yam and potatoes.



==========================================================================
"The objective of our current study was to determine whether a diet
containing breadfruit flour poses any serious health concerns," explains
Liu, who conducted her research with colleagues from British Columbia
Institute of Technology's Natural Health and Food Products Research
Group and the Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanic
Garden in Hawaii.

The researchers designed a series of studies -- using flour ground from dehydrated breadfruits -- that could provide data on the impacts of a breadfruit-based diet fed to mice and also an enzyme digestion model.

The researchers determined that breadfruit protein was found to be
easier to digest than wheat protein in the enzyme digestion model. And
mice fed the breadfruit diet had a significantly higher growth rate and
body weight than standard diet-fed mice.

Liu also noted mice on the breadfruit diet had a significantly higher
daily water consumption compared to mice on the wheat diet. And at the
end of the three-week-trial, the body composition was similar between
the breadfruit and wheat diet-fed mice.

"As the first complete, fully-designed breadfruit diet study, our data
showed that a breadfruit diet does not impose any toxic impact," says Liu.

"Fundamental understanding of the health impact of breadfruit digestion
and diets is necessary and imperative to the establishment of breadfruit
as a staple or as a functional food in the future." The use of
breadfruit is nutritious and sustainable and could make inroads in food sustainability for many populations globally, she adds. For example, the average daily consumption of grain in the United States is 189 grams (6.67 ounces) per day. Liu suggests if a person ate the same amount of cooked breadfruit they can meet up to nearly 57 per cent of their daily fibre requirement, more than 34 per cent of their protein requirement and at
the same time consume vitamin C, potassium, iron, calcium and phosphorus.

"Overall, these studies support the use of breadfruit as part of a
healthy, nutritionally balanced diet," says Liu. "Flour produced from breadfruit is a gluten-free, low glycemic index, nutrient-dense and
complete protein option for modern foods."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_British_Columbia_Okanagan_campus. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ying Liu, Paula N. Brown, Diane Ragone, Deanna L. Gibson, Susan
J. Murch.

Breadfruit flour is a healthy option for modern foods and food
security.

PLOS ONE, 2020; 15 (7): e0236300 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236300 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200917122829.htm

--- up 3 weeks, 3 days, 6 hours, 50 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)