Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Developing diet strategies to treat functional gut disorders
Dr Jane Muir is currently Head of Translational Nutrition Science in the Department of Gastroenterology, Central Clinical School, Monash University.She is a trained dietitian with a PhD in biochemistry and has over 20 years experience in the area of nutrition research.Her major research focus has been on the important role of fermentable carbohydrates in the health of the gastrointestinal tract.
Jane has made a major contribution to understanding the role of resistant starch (RS) (starch that escapes digestion in the small intestine) in gastrointestinal health. In 1990, she developed an assay for measuring levels of resistant starch in food. This assay was then validated and used to construct diets which differ greatly in levels of starch escaping digestion (ie. low and high in resistant starch). These diets were used in subsequent studies to investigate the physiological significance of including resistant starch in the diet.
Since 2001, Jane has worked in collaboration with the Gastroenterologist- Prof Peter Gibson.
This position provided her with the opportunity to develop and extend her research in the area of carbohydrates in the gut further, while strengthening the role of Nutrition and Dietetic research in the clinical setting.
Her primary focus has been assisting with the development of new diet therapies to treat and control diet-related gastrointestinal dysfunction.
A major focus of their research involved a new area of carbohydrate research involving poorly absorbed short chain carbohydrates (called FODMAPs).
FODMAPs stands for Fermentable Oligo- Di- and Mono-saccharides And Polyols). FODMAPs are found in a wide variety of foods and include; excess fructose (in pears, apples), sugar polyols (sorbitol and mannitol in stone fruits and artificial sweeteners), lactose (in milk), fructans and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) (rye, artichoke, garlic, onions) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) (stachyose, raffinose, in legumes and nuts).
Jane has helped to establish the laboratory techniques to quantify the FODMAP sugars in foods.
The group have now started assembling, for the first time, comprehensive FODMAP food composition tables, which has been essential for their research into studying the physiological effects of these sugars in the gastrointestinal tract.
These FODMAP food composition tables are also essential for designing new diet strategies for the treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common disorder seen in gastroenterological practices and affects 1 in 7 Australians.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- Carbohydrates
- Gastrointestinal Function
- Dietary Fibre
- FODMAPS
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Using dietary therapy to slow the progression of diabetic kidney disease
Snelson, M., Coughlan, M., Ekinci, E., Baqar, S., Muir, J. & Kellow, N.
3/05/21 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
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Creating an evidence base for clinical care: A randomized controlled study examining the efficacy of the low FODMAP diet for the relief of gastrointestinal symptoms in endometriosis.
Muir, J., Burgell, R., Varney, J., Moore, J., Morrison, M. & Fisher, J.
1/06/20 → 31/05/25
Project: Research
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Atmo bar : Development of Atmo Cereal bars
Gibson, P., Muir, J., Yao, C. & So, D.
18/10/21 → 17/10/22
Project: Research
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The impact of day-time and night-time endurance exercise on gastrointestinal integrity, functional responses, symptoms, and systemic endotoxin and cytokine profiles - A laboratory controlled mechanistic exploration of circadian variation influences in ultra-endurance athletes.
Da Costa, R., Gaskell, S., Muir, J. & Burgell, R.
4/02/19 → 31/12/19
Project: Research
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Ingestible capsules for sensing gut metabolites
Kalantar-zadeh, K., Gibson, P., Muir, J., McSweeney, C., Hebblewhite, M. & Berean, K. J.
1/01/19 → 1/01/21
Project: Research
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Prebiotic intervention with HAMSAB in untreated essential hypertensive patients assessed in a phase II randomized trial
Jama, H. A., Rhys-Jones, D., Nakai, M., Yao, C. K., Climie, R. E., Sata, Y., Anderson, D., Creek, D. J., Head, G. A., Kaye, D. M., Mackay, C. R., Muir, J. & Marques, F. Z., 9 Jan 2023, In: Nature Cardiovascular Research. 2, 1, p. 35-43 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access8 Citations (Scopus) -
Reliability of pathophysiological markers reflective of exercise-induced gastrointestinal syndrome (EIGS) in response to 2-h high-intensity interval exercise: A comprehensive methodological efficacy exploration
Young, P., Russo, I., Gill, P., Muir, J., Henry, R., Davidson, Z. E. & Costa, R. J. S., 21 Feb 2023, In: Frontiers in Physiology. 14, 22 p., 1063335.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access3 Citations (Scopus) -
The microbiota and metabolites during the fermentation of intact plant cells depend on the content of starch, proteins and lipids in the cells
Xiong, W., Zhang, B., Gu, Z., Muir, J. & Dhital, S., 31 Jan 2023, In: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 226, p. 965-973 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Application of The FODMAP Diet in a Paediatric Setting
Rhys-Jones, D., Varney, J. E., Muir, J. G., Gibson, P. R. & Halmos, E. P., Oct 2022, In: Nutrients. 14, 20, 24 p., 4369.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus) -
A randomized dietary intervention to increase colonic and peripheral blood SCFAs modulates the blood B- and T-cell compartments in healthy humans
Gill, P. A., Muir, J. G., Gibson, P. R. & Van Zelm, M. C., Nov 2022, In: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 116, 5, p. 1354-1367 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access4 Citations (Scopus)