Supplementation of pea seed coats to a high fat diet improves glycemic control, however, the mechanism of action is unknown. The microbiota plays an important role in the development of metabolic disease, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Two components found in pea seed coats that likely impact the microbiota are the fibre and flavonoid fractions. The research team will explore the impact of these fractions on the microbiota, intestinal barrier function and glucose tolerance in the gut. There are three primary objectives.

1. Test the direct antimicrobial activity of anthocyanidins (produced upon acid-cleavage of the flavonoid polymer called proanthocyanidins that occur in pea seed coats) on isolates of the gut microbiota;
2. Determine the changes in the microbiota induced by pea seed coat fractions that are associated with improved glucose tolerance in a high fat diet induced model of glucose intolerance; and
3. Examine the effect of pea seed coat fractions on the microbiota and intestinal integrity when supplementing a normal-fat diet. The impact of these pea seed coat fractions on intestinal resilience will be studied using a mouse model of E. coli infection. This research will deliver new insight into the benefit of pea seed coat supplementation in the human diet, providing expanded opportunities for use as a functional food. It will also identify characteristics of peas that can be optimized through cultivar selection and development.

Pulses (beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas) are healthy foods that contain twice the amount of protein as cereals, are very high in fibre, key vitamins and minerals like folate and iron and are low in fat. Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of lentils and peas, and Alberta produced 34 per cent of the pea crop and 12 per cent of beans in 2010. Current consumption of pulses in Canada is low due to a lack of pulse-based convenient food products. An approved health claim can drive interest in development of food products with particular ingredients as seen with oat beta-glucan. Experts agree that existing evidence for the cholesterol-lowering effects of pulses is particularly strong for beans, but more studies are needed to show the effects of peas, lentils and chickpeas are comparable to beans. In this study, people with high levels of blood cholesterol will consume 90 grams of either beans or peas every day for six weeks to determine the effects of pulse consumption on cholesterol lowering. Results from this study will be used to substantiate a health claim for beans and other pulse crops in the future.

Obesity is a health crisis. Pulses are part of the solution.

Used as a food ingredient, pulse fibre can help gradually reduce body weight and lower blood glucose levels. It’s not a silver bullet, but this research showed it works.

Obesity is associated with increased incidence of a variety of health conditions, and a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Quite apart from its impact on individuals, obesity brings a huge economic cost. According to the federal government’s Public Health Agency of Canada, the economic impact of obesity in Canada was $4.6 billion annually between 2000 and 2008.

Despite the high human and economic cost of obesity, there are promising strategies for Canadians to help curb obesity and the health complications that go with it: Eat more pulses. Pulse fibre, specifically, has been connected to reduced obesity.

“We know that North Americans don’t consume enough dietary fibre,” said Raylene Reimer, Professor of Nutrition in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. “That’s what we call the fibre gap – the difference between what’s recommended and what people actually eat.”

Narrowing the fibre gap was the aim of a research project led by Reimer between 2012 and 2015, with funding from Alberta Pulse Growers and others.

New product makes pulse fibre convenient

“In my lab, we are interested in what we call functional ingredients,” Reimer said. “If we could incorporate healthier ingredients like pulse fibre, into something that people eat anyway, that’s a win against the health crisis we currently have going on in Canada.”

Jay Han, Food Scientist at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s Food Processing Development Centre in Leduc, developed two types of biscuits for Reimer’s study. Subjects in the study ate 200 calories worth of the biscuits each day. The difference was in the amount of pulse fibre, in this case pea fibre. The pea fibre biscuit had 15 grams of fibre, while the control biscuit had just 0.7 grams of other fibre.

One group of people received the pea fibre biscuit to eat, another group the control biscuit, over a period of 12 weeks. Weight, blood sugar and other values were taken before and after the study period.

“This is a food product that, when included in the diet, provides small health benefits that add up over time,” Reimer said. “There’s a slight decrease in body weight, there is an improvement in appetite control and a benefit in terms of blood glucose. You’re not going to quickly lose 50 pounds. The benefit is a natural trajectory of a slow, creeping improvement in body weight.”

The pea fibre biscuit developed for the study by Han, and tested by Reimer in her research, could be just the start of a wave of food products made with pulse fractions such as fibre and protein. It’s one more sign that Alberta pulse producers are growing crops that will feed the world and make it healthier too.

“There’s a benefit from consuming dietary fibre in general and pulse fibre in particular,” Reimer said. “The question is, how can the pulse industry get its products to consumers in a bigger way?”

The objective of the project is to assess the integrated gut satiety (full feeling) hormone and intestinal microbe response to pulses in the obese gut. The experiments will provide information regarding the effectiveness of pulse fibres in altering gut satiety hormones and gut microbe profiles. This evidence will be invaluable in designing future dietary therapies based on pulses.

Pulses have strong potential to impact post-prandial glycaemia, satiety/ food intake and endurance based on their composition of complex carbohydrates, protein and low GI. However, there is a need to test the impact of pulse flour and fraction ingredients within food matrices of interest to food manufacturers in order to increase commercialization of pulse food products and substantiate health claims. This three-year project includes a series of acute human studies designed according to Health Canada’s proposed guidance for satiety and postprandial glycaemia claims as well as guidance from the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) on substantiating claims related to satiety/ weight management, post-prandial glycaemia as well as endurance. The food products to be tested in the human studies represent the same food categories of interest in the food prototype projects for the current AIP application with dose amounts of pulse ingredients relevant from an optimal taste and functionality perspective, as well as the ability to impact the health outcomes being tested.