Resistant starch 2 (RS2) may offer therapeutic value to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients particularly in combination with minimally fermented fibre, but tolerability data are lacking. The present study evaluated the tolerability of RS2, sugarcane bagasse and their combination in IBS patients and healthy controls. Following baseline, participants consumed the fibres in escalating doses lasting 3 d each: RS2 (10, 15 and 20 g/d); sugarcane bagasse (5, 10 and 15 g/d); and their combination (20, 25 and 30 g/d). Gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed daily. Six IBS patients and five controls were recruited. No differences in overall symptoms from baseline were found across the fibre doses (IBS, P = 0⋅586; controls, P = 0⋅687). For IBS patients, all RS2 doses led to increased bloating. One IBS patient did not tolerate the low combination dose and another the high sugarcane bagasse dose. Supplementation of RS2 ≤ 20 g/d caused mild symptoms and was generally tolerated in IBS patients even when combined with minimally fermented fibre.

In this study, new methods to improve the mass production of the Philippines fruit fly Bactrocera philippinensis Drew & Hancock were assessed. A new adult screen cage equipped with perforated egging tubes was designed. The replacement of sweet potato with sugarcane bagasse, rice straw or powdered corn as an alternative bulking agent in the standard artificial larval diet was found to lead to positive results in large-scale rearing. Rearing protocols and product quality control procedures for egg incubation, sieving of pupae and pupal holding were examined. The adoption of these new rearing procedures at low cost was found to increase the production of the Philippines fruit fly in a mass-rearing facility without reducing the fitness of the insect.