Buckwheat Offers Prebiotic Benefits

MADRID, Spain--Buckwheat is rich in amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and now researchers say this foodstuff may have prebiotic characteristics. In a study published in the June edition of Nutrition Research (23, 6:803-14, 2003) (www.sciencedirect.com), researchers out of Spain investigated the effects of buckwheat ingestion in a rat model. Rats fed a buckwheat diet for 30 days experienced lower body weight than controls, although glucose levels remained the same in both groups. However, researchers noted that in an analysis of Enterobacteria, Enterococcus and Streptococcus in the rats' intestines, those on the buckwheat diet had fewer of these microbes. And, in the buckwheat-fed rats, scientists noted they increased levels of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium spp and Bifidobacterium lactis. "These results confirm that buckwheat could possible by considered as a prebiotic product," the study's authors concluded.