Human colon microbiota Raw sequence reads Insect bread

Insect powder for food applications has been regulated recently in Europe and can be employed as a source for fortification of protein enriched bakery products. Protein enrichment of food products is a not a new industrial trend, but new is the employment of different sources of protein for fortification, especially the insect source. Safety and risk assessment towards the human gut microbiota have never been conducted before, but should be a routine, because protein content and quality particularly affect the eubiosis of colon microbes. This research aims at gaining knowledge on the impact of insect powder intake towards the human colon microbiome and understanding the role of sourdough fermentation for the amelioration of protein enriched products.

近期欧洲已针对食品用昆虫粉（insect powder）出台相关监管规范，该原料可作为蛋白强化烘焙食品的蛋白来源。食品蛋白强化并非新兴工业趋势，但采用不同来源的蛋白进行营养强化（尤其是昆虫源蛋白）则属于全新的发展方向。此前尚未开展针对人体肠道菌群（human gut microbiota）的安全性与风险评估研究，但此类评估理应成为常规流程——这是因为蛋白的含量与品质会显著影响结肠微生物的菌群稳态。本研究旨在探明摄入昆虫粉对人体结肠微生物组（colon microbiome）的影响，并解析酸面团发酵对蛋白强化食品的改善作用机制。