The effect of enzyme and probiotic blend on the pea protein digestion and gut microbiota: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover clinical study
A randomized, double-blind, crossover clinical trial was conducted on 15 healthy Indian male subjects. All the participants were randomly assigned to take either test product (pea protein + enzyme-probiotic blend) or placebo (pea protein + maltodextrin) for 15 days with 30 days of washout period. On day 1 and 15, blood samples were collected at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h post-supplementation to analyze the absorption of plasma amino acids. On day 15, blood samples from 0 h and 4 h were used to determine serum CRP and insulin levels. Urine and fecal nitrogen level was examined on day 1 and day 15. Additionally, fecal samples of the test subjects from day 1 and 15 were analyze for the microbiota composition.