Students
of the University of the Valley of Mexico (UVM) created a gummy candy made of agar-agar and enriched with Natto probiotics , a derivative of soy , that helps prevent chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and hypertension .
Natto
is a functional food from soybeans , enriched with a bacteria called Bacillus subtillis . Bundled with the fermentation of the beans, this bacteria has proven to have several benefits , such as antihypertensive, antidiabetic and anticarcinogenic activity.
This derivative lacks good odor and appearance . That is why, in its usual state, its intake is not well accepted by people. There is even little knowledge about its qualities and its positive impact on the human organism.
For its part, agar-agar is extracted from algae . It is a gelling agent like gelatine, and is entirely of vegetable origin , in addition to being an alternative for the maintenance and restoration of the gut microbiota . Therefore, this gummy candy can be considered a vegan product, as their creators said in a press release.
The students from the UVM Campus San Luis Potosí explained that the task of probiotics is to keep gut microbiota , which generates benefits in the digestive regeneration so that the person absorbs this kind of nutrients in his or her organism.
“There exist alternatives nowadays that allow us to introduce the probiotics to the general diet so that the population accepts this kind of foods, and to make them available so that [people] can take advantage of the qualities this fermented food offers,” Alexis Andrey commented.
The first stage of the project, which was the elaboration of the gummy with its qualities and a pleasant texture , has ended. The second stage consists of the r eproduction of the Bacillus subtillis with soybeans , then, checking the viability of the probiotics inside the gummy candy, and, finally, the functionality of the probiotics.
“We have already found a specific proportion between agar-agar and gelatin to give a nicer consistency . Later, we’ll apply conservatives that can give a larger duration to the product,” Andrey concluded.