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 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 fiber 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.