Kiwi weaning food to soothe sleeping tots

An Otago University research project to develop a weaning food fed to toddlers in the evening that will allow them to get a better night's sleep, will use 100% New Zealand-sourced dietary fibres.

The project, 'A Good Night's Sleep', is one of seven research studies granted $1 million over three years under the High Value Nutrition national science challenge and the only one that is pure fundamental science rather than industry led.

Otago University microbiologist Professor Gerald Tannock says the "stretch" research aims to produce a new weaning food containing novel dietary fibres (carbohydrates) that sustain energy release during the night so children don't wake up hungry, the first time the concept has been put forward or used in the food business.

The researchers plan to use a mix of dietary fibres sourced in New Zealand that have not previously been used to promote bacterial fermentation in the colon though Tannock wouldn't reveal what they may be at this stage.

"We wanted to do something innovative," Mr Tannock says of the research, which builds on earlier work he and others have done on gut bacteria and human digestion.

The theory is that if babies receive weaning food of the right composition before they're put to bed, bacteria will slowly break down the food during the night and release ingredients into their metabolism that will stop them waking from hunger.

Food contains complex dietary fibre that can't be digested by humans and sit in the large bowel. But the colon hosts a community of bacteria (microbiota) that can degrade and ferment these carbohydrates.

The process results in short chain fatty acids (SCFA) being created which then get absorbed from the bowel to give humans energy while sleeping. The process takes a lot longer than more easily digested food such as glucose that provides most of the energy humans need when awake.

Mr Tannock says they'll test a mix of dietary fibres in laboratory experiments during the three-year research project, based on the researchers' knowledge of the bacteria in the bowels of children during weaning and the complex polysaccharides they can produce.

The end result could be a premium product that can be licensed to baby food manufacturers as a weaning food aimed particularly in the Chinese market where Mr Tannock says there are 50 million children aged from birth to three years and 40 million aged three to five years, with more expected as China has relaxed its one-child policy to two.

Food consultant Lynley Drummond, whose role in the seven-member research team includes regulatory oversight, says early market research has shown disrupted sleep in toddlers is a key concern for mothers in many countries and there will be market demand for a healthy weaning food that aided sleep.

"New Zealand science funding needs to stretch. If we don't explore some new possibilities we'll quickly lose any advantage we have," she says. "We'll end up fast followers and copycats."

The research team is New Zealand-based apart from one Chinese professor, and their expertise ranges from microbiology, nutrition, carbohydrate chemistry, food science, sleep, energetics, and food formulation.

(BusinessDesk)

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