Researchers in Singapore create gut-friendly probiotic beer

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have created a gut-friendly beer that incorporates the probiotic strain Lactobacillus paracasei L26.

The gut bacterium, which was first isolated from human intestines has the ability to neutralise toxins and viruses, and can also regulate the immune system.

The idea of producing a probiotic beer was first proposed by Miss Chan Mei Zhi Alcine, a fourth-year student from the Food Science and Technology Programme  under the NUS Faculty of Science.

"The health benefits of probiotics are well known. While good bacteria are often present in food that had been fermented, there are currently no beers in the market that contain probiotics. Developing sufficient counts of live probiotics in beer is a challenging feat as beers contain hop acids that prevent the growth and survival of probiotics. As a believer of achieving a healthy diet through consuming probiotics, this is a natural choice for me when I picked a topic for my final-year project," said Miss Chan, who consumes consumes dairy-based probiotic beverages daily. She will be graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science with Honours (Highest Distinction) from NUS in July 2017, according to the NUS press release.

 The new beer contains one billion probiotics, per 100 ml - the intake of probiotics per serving recommended by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics. As the beer is also unfiltered and unpasteurised, the drink is able to retain live probiotic counts.

The final product which has an alcohol content of about 3.5 per cent has a slightly fruity taste.

Chan had experimented with five other probiotic strains, and was able to succeed with the Lactobacillus paracasei strain after varying factors such as temperature and the amount of ingredients during the brewing process.