Models to Evaluate the Prebiotic Potential of Foods

The interest in studying the prebiotic effect of foods is increasing due to the way in which the consumption of these foods influences the gut microbiota and how the metabolic activity of the microbiota affects the health and well‐being of the host. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have been developed to elucidate the prebiotic effect of foods, and particularly in in vivo studies, the physiological dynamics of this effect has been studied in healthy or diseased individuals. In this chapter, the main in vitro and in vivo models developed for the study of the prebiotic potential of foods will be approached, which can be used by those planning to advance in this field of research

Protective Effects of Tropical Fruit Processing Coproducts on Probiotic Lactobacillus Strains during Freeze-Drying and Storage

This study evaluated the protective effects of coproducts from agroindustrial processing of the tropical fruits acerola (Malpighia glabra L., ACE), cashew (Anacardium occidentale L., CAS), and guava (Psidium guayaba L., GUA) on the probiotics Lactobacillus paracasei L-10, Lactobacillus casei L-26, and Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-05 during freeze-drying and storage. The occurrence of damage to membrane integrity, membrane potential, and efflux activity of Lactobacillus cells after freeze-drying was evaluated by flow cytometry, and viable counts were measured immediately after freeze-drying and during 90 days of storage under refrigerated or room temperature conditions. Probiotic strains freeze-dried without substrate had the overall highest count reductions (0.5 ± 0.1 to 2.9 ± 0.3 log cycles) after freeze-drying. Probiotics freeze-dried with fruit processing coproducts had small cell subpopulations with damaged efflux activity and membrane potential. Average counts of probiotics freeze-dried with ACE, CAS, or GUA after 90 days of storage under refrigerated or room temperature were in the range of 4.2 ± 0.1 to 5.3 ± 0.2 and 2.6 ± 0.3 to 4.9 ± 0.2 log CFU/g, respectively, which were higher than those observed for strains freeze-dried without substrate. The greatest protective effects on freeze-dried probiotics were overall presented by ACE. These results revealed that ACE, CAS, and GUA can exert protective effects and increase the stability of probiotic lactobacilli during freeze-drying and storage, in addition to supporting a possible added-value destination for these agroindustrial coproducts as vehicles for probiotics and for the development of novel functional foods.Fil: Araújo, Caroliny Mesquita. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Sampaio, Karoliny Brito. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Dantas Duarte Menezes, Francisca Nayara. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Tayse da Cruz Almeida, Erika. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Lima, Marcos dos Santos. Instituto Federal do Sertão de Pernambuco. Departamento de Tecnologia de Alimentos; BrasilFil: Bordin Viera, Vanessa. Universidade Federal Campina Grande. Centro de Educação e Saúde; BrasilFil: Fernandez Garcia, Estefânia. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Gomez Zavaglia, Andrea. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Leite de Souza, Evandro. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Gomes de Oliveira, Maria Elieidy. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; Brasi

Avaliação in vitro do potencial prebiótico do subproduto do do processamento do pedúnculo do caju(Anacardium occidentale L.) frente à Lactobacillus spp.

The cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a tropical, popular and well accepted fruit, due its nutritional characteristics and sensory attributes. The processing of the cashew pseudo-fruit (also called peduncle) generates the main byproduct which represent up to 20% of the total weight of the pseudo-fruit. In the last years, studies verifying the prebiotic potential of the byproducts from the processing of the cashew peduncle are scarce or nonexistent. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate in vitro the prebiotic effects of a lyophilized powder obtained from the byproduct of the cashew peduncle (named CAP) against different probiotic strains of Lactobacillus, such as: L. acidophillus LA-05, L. casei L-26 and L. paracasei L-10. The growth and viable cell numbers of the Lactobacillus strains were monitored in Mann, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth containing CAP (20 g/L), glucose (20 g/L) and fructooligosaccharides – FOS (20 g/L), during 48 h. Some parameters related to the metabolic activity of the probiotic strains, cultivated in these different culture media, were evaluated, such as pH, production of organic acids and consumption of sugars. Similar viable cell count for each tested Lactobacillus strain in the different culture media were observed, count reached 8.5 - 9.0 log CFU/mL and pH values at approximately 4.0 after 48 h of cultivation. The growth of these Lactobacillus strains in MRS broth containing glucose, FOS or CAP resulted in a decrease of pH, production of organic acids (acetic, citric, malic, formic and lactic) and consumption of sugars (glucose, fructose and maltose) during the incubation time, indicating an intense bacterial metabolic activity. Overall, the tested Lactobacillus strains showed similar capability to ferment the FOS and the CAP, although some differences related to the production of organic acids and consumption of sugars were detected. The results showed that the CAP possesses a prebiotic potential effect toward Lactobacillus strains. These findings may stimulate the agro-industrial sector to valorize the byproducts from the cashew pseudo-fruit processing as an added-value ingredient to the food industry.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPESConselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPqO caju (Anacardium occidentale L.) é uma fruta tropical, amplamente difundida e valorizada, tanto por suas características nutricionais quanto pelos seus atributos sensoriais. O principal subproduto gerado do caju decorre do processamento do seu pedúnculo (pseudofruto), representando até 20% do peso total do pseudofruto. Com base nesse contexto, esse estudo teve por objetivo avaliar in vitro os efeitos prebióticos de um pó liofilizado obtido a partir do subproduto do pedúnculo do caju (denominado CAP) frente a diferentes cepas probióticas de Lactobacillus, a citar: L. acidophillus LA-05, L. casei L-26 e L. paracasei L-10. O crescimento e o número de células viáveis das cepas de Lactobacillus foram monitorados em caldo de Mann, Rogosa e Sharpe (MRS), contendo o CAP (20 g/L), glicose (20 g/L) e frutooligossacarídeos - FOS (20 g/L), durante um período de 48 h. Também foram avaliados alguns parâmetros relacionados à atividade metabólica das cepas probióticas ensaiadas quando cultivadas nos diferentes meios de cultura, como os valores de pH, produção de ácidos orgânicos e o consumo de açúcares. Para cada cepa de Lactobacillus ensaiada, foram observadas contagem similares de células viáveis nos diferentes meios de cultivo, sendo alcançadas contagens entre 8.5 – 9.0 log UFC/mL e valores de pH em torno de 4.0, ao final do cultivo de 48 h. O cultivo de todas as cepas de lactobacilos em MRS contendo glicose, FOS ou CAP resultou em decréscimos de pH, produção de ácidos orgânicos (acético, cítrico, málico, fórmico e lático) e consumo de açúcares (glicose, frutose e maltose) ao longo do tempo de incubação avaliado, indicando intensa atividade metabólica bacteriana. Em geral, todas as cepas de lactobacilos testadas apresentaram capacidade semelhante para fermentar FOS e CAP, embora algumas diferenças quantitativas relacionadas com a produção de ácidos orgânicos e consumo de açúcares tenham sido detectadas. Os resultados deste estudo mostraram que o CAP possui potencial prebiótico frente a cepas de Lactobacillus. Estes resultados podem estimular o setor agro-industrial para valorizar os subprodutos do processamento do pendúnculo do caju como um ingrediente com valor agregado para a indústria de alimentos