UC Davis

Beer contains low-molecular-weight β-linked oligosaccharides that originate from the degradation of β-glucan in the barley cell wall during malting and mashing. Over 90% of these oligosaccharides contain three or four glucosyl units. They remain intact through a static oral, gastric and small intestinal in vitro human digestive system model, indicating that they should be available to beneficial organisms known to be present in the human large intestine. Several intestine-associated Lactobacillus strains were shown to be capable of growth on these β-linked oligosaccharides, thereby leading us to tentatively propose that these compounds may represent prebiotics. Copyright © 2017 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling.