Postbiotics from plant-based fermented foods for gut health applications

Overview

This research program investigates how fermentation of plant-based ingredients by bacterial, fungal, and eukaryotic microbes generates bioactive metabolites, known as postbiotics, with measurable health benefits. The team applies controlled fermentation to foods such as beans and cereals, then evaluates the resulting compounds through simulated human digestion and ex-vivo gut-fermentation models. By combining microbiomics and metabolomics with molecular techniques such as RNA sequencing, the researchers correlate microbial community profiles with specific health outcomes. The work targets the development of plant-derived functional food ingredients that deliver gut-health benefits beyond what is available from the original raw materials.

Technical specifications

Core approach:

• Controlled fermentation of plant-based ingredients, including beans and cereals, using bacterial, fungal, and eukaryotic microbes
• Simulated human digestion followed by ex-vivo gut-fermentation to measure bioactive endpoints
• Microbiomics and metabolomics pipelines to characterise microbial diversity and metabolite profiles
• RNA sequencing to associate microbial community dynamics with health-related endpoints
• Cell culture protocols to assess bioavailability and the physiological impact of postbiotics on gut health

Team expertise:

• Food science and nutrition leadership for protocol design and ingredient selection
• Food chemistry for metabolite characterisation and analytical measurement
• Gut-health research for clinical endpoint design and interpretation
• Collaboration with hospital-based research partners for targeted health-function studies

Technology readiness level

The fermentation protocols for beans and cereals have been established and optimised, with measurable bioactivity endpoints already demonstrated. Microbial diversity profiling has been validated, and the work is currently being prepared for publication. Future validation will focus on targeted health functions using invitro fermentation models and cell culture bioavailability assays developed in collaboration with hospital-based researchers. The program is positioned at an early-to-mid stage of translational development, with strong potential for industry collaboration on functional food ingredient development and gut-health product innovation.