An Italian study, published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, held at the Department of soil science, plant and food at the University of Bari, has shown an increase in lactobacillus, essential components of the beneficial intestinal flora, to the detriment of the harmful composed mainly of Bacteroides, Enterobacteriaceae, Coliforms, Pseudomonas and other strains, in faecal samples of 26 healthy individuals who were administered for 60 days of pasta enriched with beta-glucan barley integral, since the flours of barley and oats containing naturally. In addition, there has been a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol, lowering blood glucose, the decline in peripheral insulin resistance and a lower incidence of metabolic syndrome. Important factor is that the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of barley, oats and some derivatives of wheat bran to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. In addition, the European Food Safety Authority has recognized that regular consumption of beta-glucan derived from oats can actively reduce circulating levels of total cholesterol and LDL fraction.

It was established that the lowest dose of beta-glucans recommended to have a positive effect on human health is of 3 g / day, which is precisely the amount used to enrich the dough used in the study, composed not only by the beta-glucans, from 75% of wheat flour and 25% of barley flour integral. The daily dose administered was equivalent to 100 grams.

The flour of durum wheat and barley wholemeal enriched by 3% beta-glucans appear to be effective in modulating the composition and metabolic pathways of the intestinal microflora, leading to a significant increase in the level of short-chain fatty acid.