Research boosts cancer-fighters in yoghurt

'Smart yoghurts' that improve people's immunity and potentially fight cancer may soon hit the supermarkets shelves following a research breakthrough at the University of Western Sydney.

The UWS probiotics research team has developed new packaging that significantly increases the viability and level of 'good' probiotic bacteria in the yoghurt we eat.

"The heavy use of antibiotics in the past means they are no longer the magic bullets of modern medicine because of increasingly resistant bacteria," says chief researcher, Dr Kaila Kailasapathy.

"Probiotics are the new generation of disease-fighters. These good bacteria enhance immunity and can help prevent diseases such as colon cancer. Probiotics prevent pathogens by a process of competitive exclusion. In a way, they can act as a vaccine, with the ability to arm the immune system against incoming pathogens."

One of the best ways to increase probiotic bacteria in the digestive system is by eating yoghurt, which contains lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium spp. However, Dr Kailasapathy says up until now it's been difficult for people to eat enough yoghurt to gain the benefits.

"At the moment Australians would need to eat around five kilograms of yoghurt a week to do any good," he says. "That's because the therapeutic benefits of probiotic bacteria depend on their survival through the 48-day shelf life of commercial yoghurt. This long 'use-by' period means that by the time you consume the yoghurt much of the goodness has been lost."

Dr Kailasapathy believes the new 'active packaging' his team has developed is the answer. The advanced technology uses a barrier-packaging film to remove oxygen from the product and prevent oxygen access during storage.

"By altering the properties of the material used in packaging, we can control the level of oxygen in the product. This will protect the probiotic Bifido-bacteria, which are the most beneficial bacteria for intestinal tract health, from being destroyed," Dr Kailasapathy says.

Item provided courtesy of The University of Western Sydney