“I thought it was a white carrot”... The unexpected vegetable that supports gut health [Health LAB]

[Financial News] An extract from the root of parsnips (Pastinaca sativa L.), known as “white carrots,” has been found to support gut and liver health. The findings, based on cell and animal experiments, are seen as providing scientific grounds for developing parsnips as a prebiotic ingredient to support gut and liver health.
According to the Korea Food Research Institute on the 11th, parsnips are root vegetables in the Apiaceae family that have long been eaten, particularly in Europe. Because they look similar to white carrots, they are also known as “white carrots.” With their distinctive mild sweetness and aroma, they are used in a variety of dishes, including soups and roasted dishes, and contain various plant-derived substances, including dietary fiber and polyphenols. Although still an unfamiliar crop in Korea, parsnips are attracting attention for their potential as a new food ingredient as research on their health benefits has recently been reported both in Korea and abroad. Some farms have begun cultivating them.
A research team led by Dr. Park Ho-young of the Korea Food Research Institute focused on the “gut-liver axis” and examined the effects of parsnip extract on the gut environment, the gut barrier, and liver markers. The gut barrier is the first line of defense against the uncontrolled entry of substances in the gut into the body. When a high-fat diet disrupts the balance of gut microbes and the junctions between cells, microbial endotoxins can enter the bloodstream and promote liver inflammation and fat accumulation.
The team first found that treating intestinal mucus-secreting cells with parsnip extract at concentrations of 10–1,000 μg/mL increased mucus production and expression of mucin-2, a protein involved in mucus production within cells. Intestinal mucus forms a protective layer over the surface of the gut barrier, limiting the access of microbes and harmful substances, which supports the possibility that parsnip extract could help protect the gut.
The team also observed reduced levels of endotoxins in the blood and less fat accumulation in the liver in an animal model fed a high-fat diet, along with improvements in the gut barrier protein ZO-1 and inflammation in colon tissue. In particular, parsnip extract promoted the growth of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria isolated from the guts of healthy Koreans, and its activity was 1.2 to 2.0 times higher than that of inulin, a representative prebiotic.
The study presents a unified picture of parsnips’ potential to support gut and liver health: “promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria → strengthening intestinal mucus and the gut barrier → reducing endotoxin entry → easing fat accumulation in the liver.” The findings were published in npj Science of Food, an international food science journal. Findings published to date are from cell and animal experiments, and research to verify the effects in humans is underway. Efforts are also underway to commercialize parsnips across the entire value chain, from domestic smart-farm production to their use as a functional food ingredient.
Dr. Park Ho-young of the Korea Food Research Institute said, “We confirmed the possibility that water-soluble components in parsnips could improve the growth of beneficial bacteria, intestinal mucus and the gut barrier, endotoxin levels, and liver markers.” He added, “We will work to develop them into a food ingredient that supports gut and liver health in the general population, following raw-material standardization, safety assessments, and human trials.”
[email protected] Yeon Ji-an Reporter