Banana Peel (Musa ABB cv. Nam Wa Mali-Ong) as a Source of Value-Adding Components and the Functional Properties of Its Bioactive Ingredients

\ua9 2024 by the authors.Banana peel (BP) is the primary by-product generated during banana processing which causes numerous environmental issues. This study examines the physical attributes, proximate analysis, glycoarray profiling, antioxidant abilities, and prebiotic activity of BP. The analysis demonstrated that carbohydrates constituted the primary components of BP and the glycoarray profiling indicated that BP contains multiple pectin and hemicellulose structures. BP also contained phenolic compounds, including (+)-catechin and gallic acid, flavonoid compounds, and antioxidant activities. BP demonstrated prebiotic effects by promoting the proliferation of advantageous gut bacteria while inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria. The prebiotic index scores demonstrated that BP exhibited a greater capacity to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in comparison to regular sugar. The study demonstrated the potential of the BP as a valuable source of dietary fibre, bioactive compounds, and prebiotics. These components have beneficial characteristics and can be utilised in the production of food, feed additives, and functional food

Functional properties of β-glucosidase-producing Lactobacillus plantarum SC 359 isolated from Thai fermented soybean food

The aims of this study were to isolate LAB from Thai plant-derived foods and beverages and to examine in vitro probiotic properties including b-glucosidase enzyme activity. Lactobacillus plantarum SC 359 selected from Thai pickled soybean was significantly (P−1 at 18 h of incubation) out of the 227 tested strains. The strain survived in 0.30% (w/v) bile salt and had high tolerance to acidic pH with survival rates at a 2 h period of 72.24%, 85.52%, 92.64%, and 93.38% at pH 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0, respectively. The SC 359 strain showed proteolytic and lipolytic activities. Moreover, the selected strain displayed strong antagonistic activities against Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella sonnei and Candida albicans ATCC 90028. The strain was susceptible to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, rifampicin, streptomycin, tetracycline, and vancomycin. In addition, the selected strain significantly inhibited the adherence to Caco-2 cells of E. coli, S. Typhi and Sh. sonnei (P<0.05) by 33.50 to 73.37%. The strain could obstruct the adherences of pathogens by elimination, competition, and displacement with pathogen adherences 33.62–53.92%, 26.63–59.23%, and 49.41–66.50%, respectively. Based on the results, the selected strain could be applied as functional starter for Thai fermented plant-derived foods and beverages