Zapping beans to reduce flatulence and global
warming
ABC Online 28/03/2002
Pioneering researchers in India have found a way to reduce flatulence caused by eating
beans, the British weekly New Scientist reports.
Jammala Machaiah and Mrinal Pednekar of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay
zapped mung beans, chickpeas and black-eyed beans with gamma rays.
Levels of oligosaccharides, a carbohydrate that is the main culprit in intestinal gas,
were cut by up to 80 per cent, although kidney beans were strangely left unaffected by the
treatment.
"In India, beans are a very popular and important part of the national diet, but some
people can't eat a lot of beans because of the flatulence problem," Jammala Machaiah
said.
"This is unfortunate, as it is a very good source of essential nutrients.
"Irradiation would make beans less of a problem."
If the technique takes off, there could even be a minor environmental benefit, for it
would help the fight against global warming.
Pigs fed with meal made with reduced oligosaccharides would be less flatulent and thus
release less methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
The research is published in full in the latest issue of a specialist journal, Food
Chemistry.
The New Scientist article appears in next Saturday's issue.
Irradiation is a commonly used technique in the food industry to extend shelf life by
killing bacteria that cause rot.
In most countries, it is only permitted under licence and the treated food has to be
marked.END
OF REPORT
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