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Article
High antioxidant action and prebiotic activity of hydrolyzed spent coffee grounds (HSCG) in a simulated digestion-fermentation model: toward the development of a novel food supplement Lucia Panzella, Sergio Pérez-Burillo, Silvia Pastoriza, María Angeles Martín, Pierfrancesco Cerruti, Luis Goya, Sonia Ramos, José A. Rufián-Henares, Alessandra Napolitano, and Marco d'Ischia J. Agric. Food Chem., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b02302 • Publication Date (Web): 10 Jul 2017 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on July 10, 2017
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Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
1 High antioxidant action and prebiotic activity of hydrolyzed spent coffee grounds (HSCG) in a simulated digestion-fermentation model: toward the development of a novel food supplement
Lucia Panzella,*,† Sergio Pérez-Burillo,∞ Silvia Pastoriza,∞ María Ángeles Martín,‡ Pierfrancesco Cerruti,§ Luis Goya,‡ Sonia Ramos,‡ José Ángel Rufián-Henares,# Alessandra Napolitano,† and Marco d’Ischia†
†
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Cintia 4, I-80126,
Naples, Italy ∞
Departmento de Nutrición y Bromatología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Granada,
Campus Universitario de Cartuja, 18071 Granada, Spain ‡
Department of Metabolism and Nutrition, ICTAN, CSIC, José Antonio Novais 10, 28040 Madrid,
Spain §
Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB-CNR), Via Campi Flegrei 34, I-80078
Pozzuoli, Italy #
Departamento de Nutrición y Bromatología, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria
ibs.GRANADA, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
*Corresponding author (Tel: +39081674131; Fax: +39081674393; E-mail:
[email protected])
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Abstract
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Spent coffee grounds are a by-product with a large production all over the world. The aim of this
3
study was to explore the effects of a simulated digestion-fermentation treatment on hydrolyzed
4
spent coffee grounds (HSCG) and to investigate the antioxidant properties of the digestion and
5
fermentation products in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell line. The potentially
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bioaccessible (soluble) fractions exhibited high chemoprotective activity in HepG2 cells against
7
oxidative stress. Structural analysis of both the indigestible (insoluble) and soluble material
8
revealed partial hydrolysis and release of the lignin components in the potentially bioaccessible
9
fraction following simulated digestion-fermentation. A high prebiotic activity as determined from
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the increase in Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. as well as the production of short chain
11
fatty acids (SCFAs) following microbial fermentation of HSCG was also observed. These results
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pave the way toward the use of HSCG as a food supplement.
13 14
Keywords: spent coffee grounds; antioxidant; reactive oxygen species; simulated digestion-
15
fermentation; HepG2 cells; short chain fatty acids
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Introduction
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Coffee is by far one of the most consumed beverages in the world and the resulting spent coffee
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grounds (SCG), because of the high content in caffeine, tannins, and polyphenols, can have harmful
20
effects on the environment, requiring proper management and disposal.1 Proposed use of SCG
21
includes production of biofuel, removal of pollutants from water and as a source of natural phenolic
22
antioxidants for use as nutritional supplements, foods, or cosmetic additives.1-9
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SCG contain mainly carbohydrates (38–42%), proteins (8%), and chlorogenic acids (3–4%).10,11 As
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a major outcome of the roasting process, SCG contain also melanoidins, which are usually
25
quantified to account for ca. 25% w/w of the dry weight of roasted coffee beans.12,13
26
We recently developed an expedient chemical procedure to convert SCG into an all-natural
27
biocompatible material, termed hydrolyzed spent coffee grounds (HSCG), involving an hydrolytic
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protocol with 6 M HCl, at 100 °C, overnight. The black powder thus obtained displayed potent
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antioxidant properties for diverse applications, including e.g. cell protection, food lipid preservation
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and thermal and photo-oxidative stabilization of polymers.14
31
Yet, simple chemical assays are inadequate to evaluate the actual antioxidant activity of food, and
32
the importance of in vitro digestion combined with cellular assays to determine the antioxidant
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activity has been recently emphasized.15-20
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SCG have been found to be good sources of prebiotic compounds following in vitro digestion.12
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The chemical characterization of potentially prebiotic oligosaccharides in SCG have been also
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recently reported.21
37
The anti-inflammatory potential of the metabolites produced by colonic fermentation of SCG has
38
also been described, supporting the use of SGC in the food industry as dietary fiber source with
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health benefits.12,22 However, the physiological potential and health benefits of HSCG have not yet
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been adequately investigated.
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We report herein the modifications induced by in vitro gastrointestinal digestion followed by a
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fermentation step on the antioxidant activity of HSCG. The potential antioxidant and oxidative ACS Paragon Plus Environment
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stress protection of both the potentially bioaccessible digestion and fermentation products and the
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residual, undigested fraction of HSCG were investigated by validated cellular assays using human
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liver HepG2 cell line. This is generally held as a sensitive model for the determination of the
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chemoprotective potential of antioxidant compounds.23 Preliminary structural investigation on both
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the soluble, potentially bioaccesible, fractions and the residual, indigestible, solid fraction was
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carried out. The prebiotic activity of HSCG was also determined.
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Materials and Methods
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Chemicals. HSCG were prepared from espresso SCG collected from a local coffee shop as
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previously described.14 Salivary α-amylase, pepsin from porcine, bile acids (bile extract porcine),
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tryptone, cysteine, sodium sulphide, resazurin, inulin, o-phthaldialdehyde (OPT), glutathione
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(GSH), and 2,7-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA) were from Sigma-Aldrich. Pancreatine
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from porcine pancreas was purchased from Alpha Aesar, tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BOOH) from
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Panreac, Bradford reagent from BioRad.
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General Experimental Methods. FTIR analysis was performed using a Perkin Elmer Spectrum
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100 spectrometer in attenuated total reflectance (ATR) mode, with an average of 32 scans and
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resolution of 4 cm−1, in the range 4000-400 cm−1. UV-vis spectra were recorded on a Agilent/HP
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8453 spectrophotometer. NMR spectra were recorded in D2O or CD3OD on a Bruker 400 MHz
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NMR spectrometer. HPLC analysis was performed with an instrument equipped with a UV-vis
61
detector (Agilent, G1314A); a Phenomenex Sphereclone ODS column (250 × 4.60 mm, 5 µm) was
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used, at a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min; a 1% formic acid (solvent A)/methanol (solvent B) gradient
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elution was performed as follows: from 5 to 90% B, 0-45 min; the detection wavelength was 254
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nm. Short chain fatty acid (SCFAs) determination was carried out on Accela 600 HPLC (Thermo
65
Scientific) equipped with a pump, an autosampler and a UV-VIS PDA detector set at 210 nm; the
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mobile phase used was 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 2.8)/acetonitrile 99:1 v/v delivered at a 1
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mL/min flow rate; the column used was an Aquasil C18 reverse phase (Thermo Scientific) (150 ×
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4.6 mm, 5 µm), with a total run-time of 20 min. ACS Paragon Plus Environment
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In vitro Digestion. The in vitro digestion method followed was an adaptation to the method
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previously described,17,24 composed of an oral phase, a gastric phase and an intestinal one. Briefly,
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for the oral phase, 5 mL of simulated salivary fluid containing α-amylase were added to 0.5 g of
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grinded HSCG. Such mix was incubated at 37 oC for 2 min. Then, 10 mL of simulated gastric fluid
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containing pepsin were added and the pH lowered to 3.0 by adding 1 N HCl. The mixture was
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incubated at 37 oC for 2 h, after that 20 mL of simulated intestinal fluid containing pancreatin and
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bile salts were added and the pH increased to 7.0 with 1 N NaOH. The mixture was then incubated
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at 37 oC for 2 h. In order to stop the enzymatic reactions, the tube was buried in iced water,
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centrifuged at 14000 g for 10 min at 4 oC and the supernatant stored at -80 oC until further analysis.
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A 10% of the liquid fraction was added to the solid residue in order to mimic the fraction that is not
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readily absorbed after digestion.25 Then, the mixed fractions were frozen for further lyophilization.
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When required, the supernatant from the digestion mixture was lyophilized, too, and then subjected
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to chemical extraction: in brief, 300 mg of material were dissolved in 120 mL of water, then the
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solution was taken to pH 1 with 3 M HCl and extracted with ethyl acetate (3 × 100 mL). The
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combined organic layers were dried over Na2SO4 and taken to dryness to give a dark yellow oily
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residue (ca. 30 mg). For comparison ethyl acetate extraction was performed also on the supernatant
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form a control mixture containing enzymes and other ingredients but no HSCG.
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In vitro Fermentation. The method used was adapted from a previously described protocol.26 In
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brief, to 300 mg of lyophilized digestion solid residue, 200 µL of distilled water were added into a
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screw-cap tube to make up the volume up to 0.5 mL. Then, 7.5 mL of fermentation final solution
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(peptone water + resazurine) was added. Finally, 2 mL of inoculum was added being the final
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volume 10 mL. The inoculum consisted of a solution of 32% feces in phosphate buffer 100 mM, pH
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7.0 (fecal content composed of a mixture of equal weight of fresh morning feces of three healthy
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adult human donors, mean body mass index = 21.3). Nitrogen was bubbled in order to reach an
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anaerobic atmosphere and the mixture was incubated at 37 oC for 20 h under oscillation. Right after,
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and stored at -80 oC. The solid residue was also stored for direct antioxidant activity measure. Both
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digestion and fermentation were performed in triplicate. When required, the supernatant was
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lyophilized and subjected to chemical extraction: in brief, 100 mg of material were dissolved in 40
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mL of water, then the solution was taken to pH 1 with 3 M HCl and extracted with ethyl acetate (3
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× 30 mL). The combined organic layers were dried over Na2SO4 and taken to dryness to give a dark
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yellow oily residue (ca. 4 mg). For comparison ethyl acetate extraction was performed also on the
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supernatant of a control mixture containing all the ingredients but no HSCG.
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SCFAs Assay. SCFAs determination (acetic, propionic and butyric acids) was carried out by HPLC
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as described in the General Experimental Methods. The sample did not require any pretreatment
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before injection. Briefly, the SCFA standards were prepared in the mobile phase at concentrations
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ranging from 5 to 10000 ppm. After the fermentation process, 1 mL of supernatant was centrifuged
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to remove solid particles, filtered through a 0.22 µm nylon filter and finally transferred to a vial for
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HPLC analysis. A probiotic commercial milk beverage was also analyzed for comparison.
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Prebiotic activity. The ability of bacteria to utilize HSCG as carbon source was performed as
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previously described.12 After the digestion-fermentation step, qRTi-PCR was performed as reported
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previously27 to assess the growth of different bacterial strains. The QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit
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(Qiagen) was used for DNA extraction, after diluting the stool contents 1:10 (w/v) in phosphate
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buffer saline (PBS). DNA was eluted in the provided buffer, and purified DNA extracts were stored
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at −20 °C. A series of genus-specific primer pairs were used.27 PCR amplification and detection was
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performed in an Eco Illumina thermocycler as follows. Each reaction mixture (10 µL) was
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composed of 5 µL of KAPA SYBR Fast Master Mix (Kapa Biosystems), 0.25 µL of each specific
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primer (at a concentration of 10 µM) and 2 µL of template DNA. Standard curves were created
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using serial 10-fold dilutions of bacterial DNA extracted from pure cultures with a bacterial
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population ranging from 2 to 9 log10 CFUs, as determined by plate counts. One strain belonging to
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each of the bacterial genera or groups targeted in this study was used to construct the standard
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curve. More specifically, DNA was extracted from the following strains: Bifidobacterium longum ACS Paragon Plus Environment
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CECT 4551, Clostridium coccoides DSMZ 935, Bacteroides fragilis DSMZ 2151, Lactobacillus
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salivarius CECT 2197, obtained from the Spanish Collection of Type Cultures (CECT) or the
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German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ).
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Cellular Assays. Human hepatoma HepG2 cells were maintained in a humidified incubator
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containing 5% CO2 and 95% air at 37 ºC. They were grown in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle
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Medium/Nutrient Mixture F-12 (DMEM F-12) from Biowhitaker, supplemented with 2.5%
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Biowhitaker foetal bovine serum (FBS) and 50 mg/L of each of the following antibiotics:
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gentamicin, penicillin and streptomycin.
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To assay direct effect, cells were incubated with doses ranging from 1 to 100 µg/mL (depending of
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the assay) of HSCG, digested HSCG, fermented HSCG or residual fraction from fermented HSCG
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for 20 h. To assay for a protective effect, cells were pre-treated with the noted doses (see Table 1
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and Figures 1 and 2) of the four samples for 20 h, then the medium was removed, cells were washed
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with PBS and 400 µM t-BOOH (dissolved in the medium) was added for 2 h, after which the cell
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cultures were processed as detailed below for each assay.
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Cell viability was measured by the crystal violet assay as previously reported.28 Briefly, HepG2
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cells were seeded at low density (10000 cells per well) in 96-well plates, grown for 20 h under the
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different conditions and incubated with crystal violet (0.2% in ethanol) for 20 min. Plates were
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rinsed with water, allowed to dry, and 1% sodium dodecylsulfate added. The absorbance of each
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well was measured using a microplate reader at 570 nm.
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Cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were quantified by the dichlorofluorescein assay as
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previously described.15,29 Briefly, the cells were seeded in 24-well plates (200000 cells per well) in
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medium containing FBS, which was replaced with the FBS-free medium the next day. After 20 h, 5
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µM DCFH-DA was added to the wells which were incubated at 37 ºC for 30 min, after that cells
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were washed with PBS, treated with fresh FBS-free medium with the different concentrations of the
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four HSCG samples and ROS production was monitored for 120 min. For the protection assay, cells
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were seeded and left overnight before treating them with the HSCG samples for 20 h. Then DCFHACS Paragon Plus Environment
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DA was added for 30 min and cells were washed with PBS prior to the addition of 400 µM t-BOOH
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to every well but controls with further incubation for 2 h. Control cells without t-BOOH treatment
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were used as negative control. Multiwell plates were measured in a fluorescent microplate reader at
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excitation wavelength of 485 nm and emission wavelength of 528 nm. Results are expressed as
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percent of fluorescence units.
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GSH content was quantitated by a fluorometric assay as previously described.15 Briefly, HepG2
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cells were plated in 60 mm diameter plates at a concentration of 1.5 × 106 cells/plate. Cells were
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treated with the different quantities of the samples for 20 h, collected by scraping in 1.5 mL of PBS
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and centrifuged (1500 rpm, 4 ºC, 5 min), and lysed by adding 110 µL of 5% w/v trichloroacetic acid
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containing 2 mM EDTA. Protein was measured by the Bradford reagent. After centrifugation of the
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cells (7500 rpm, 4 ºC, 30 min), 50 µL of supernatant were transferred to wells in a 96-well plate.
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Then, 15 µL of 1 M NaOH were added, followed by 175 µL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH
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8.0) containing 5 mM EDTA. 10 µL per well of a 10 mg/mL methanolic solution of OPT were
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finally added. After 15 min at room temperature in the dark, fluorescence was measured (emission
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wavelength: 460 nm; excitation wavelength: 340 nm). The results were expressed as percent related
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to untreated cells.
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Statistical Analysis. Statistical significance of the data was tested by one-way analysis of variance
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(ANOVA), followed by the Duncan test to compare the means that showed significant variation (p
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< 0.05); all the statistical analyses were performed using Statgraphics Plus software, version 5.1.
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For the cellular assays, prior to analysis data were tested for homogeneity of variances by the test of
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Levene; for multiple comparisons, one-way ANOVA was followed by a Bonferroni test when
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variances were homogeneous or by Tamhane test when variances were not homogeneous. The level
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of significance was p < 0.05. A SPSS version 23.0 program was used.
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Results and Discussion
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Determination of Antioxidant Properties of HSCG Following Simulated Digestion and
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Fermentation in HepG2 cells.
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Evaluation of the actual bioavailability of polyphenols in food and food supplements based on data
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concerning their absorption, metabolism, tissue and organ distribution is crucial to establish their
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effects on human body.18,30,31 Drug bioavailability depends on several factors such as administration
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route, phenotype, age, gender, and food interaction,31 however studies carried out on animals or
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human subjects are necessarily complex, expensive, and lengthy. This is the reason why different in
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vitro procedures that mimic the physiochemical and biochemical conditions encountered in the
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gastrointestinal tract have been actively developed and tested, providing preliminary data on the
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potential bioavailability of different components of the food under evaluation.32-37 The importance
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of in vitro digestion combined with cellular assays to determine the antioxidant activity has been
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recently emphasized,15-20 and the HepG2 cell line is widely used to study the biotransformation and
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the chemopreventive potential of different compounds as a model system of the human liver.23,38
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We are aware that i) phase-II metabolism of the phenolic compounds produced after the simulated
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gastrointestinal digestion should be duly considered since it can limit their bioavailability and
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reduce their biological activity,39 and that ii) expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug
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transporters in transformed cell lines is often low and variable. Notwithstanding that, genotyping of
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phase I and phase II enzymes and drug transporter polymorphisms in these cells confirmed HepG2
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as a suitable model for metabolic studies, also because the low levels of sulfotransferase and N-
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acetyltransferase reported in these cells are still high enough to allow metabolism.38
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To test the biocompatibility and cytoprotective properties of both the liquid (potentially
195
bioaccessible) fractions from digestion (HSCG-dig) and fermentation (HSCG-ferm) treatment and
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the solid residue after fermentation (HSCG-res), together with raw HSCG for comparison, doses of
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1-20 µg/mL were considered physiological and realistic,14 but higher concentrations were also
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culture. Thus, crystal violet assay (Table 1) shows that doses up to 100 µg/mL of any of the four
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products did not affect HepG2 cell viability after 20 h.
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Despite a slight increase in ROS observed for HSCG-dig at 1 and 5 µg/mL, no physiologically
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relevant changes in ROS production (Figure 1A) and GSH concentration (Figure 2A) were
203
observed after plain treatment of cells with all four samples, indicating no harmful alteration of the
204
redox status. Thus, direct treatment with the HSCG products did not induce cellular stress or
205
oxidative damage which could impair cell functionality. In order to test the cytoprotective effect of
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the products in a stressful condition, a model of oxidative stress induced by a potent pro-oxidant,
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tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BOOH) was established.15 In agreement with this model, 400 µM t-
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BOOH evoked a condition of oxidative stress exhibited by decreased cell viability (Table 1) and
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GSH (Figure 2B), as well as overproduction of ROS (Figure 1B). Interestingly, data in Table 1
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show that pre-treatment with 1-10 µg/mL of HSCG-dig and HSCG-ferm and 5-10 µg/mL HSCG
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completely protected HepG2 cell viability from stress-induced death, indicating a clear defense of
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cell integrity by the spent coffee products against a stressful challenge. The antioxidant activity
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observed for HSCG-ferm would indicate that the gut microbiota has a strong metabolic activity
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against HSCG, releasing antioxidant compounds that could be absorbed through the colonic
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intestinal tract.
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The ROS-scavenging effect of HSCG has been recently reported.14 In the present study, Figure 1B
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shows that 1-20 µg/mL of HSCG-dig, HSCG-ferm and raw HSCG significantly reduced ROS
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overproduction evoked by t-BOOH, suggesting a quenching ability of reactive species in a cellular
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environment, which could explain the observed reduced oxidative stress and cell protection. We
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have previously reported a similar ROS reducing effect in this same cell line treated with coffee
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melanoidin15 and with a green coffee bean extract or pure chlorogenic acid.40
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Comparable to what previously reported with HSCG,14 a dose-dependent recovery of the depleted
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GSH was observed with 5-10 µg/mL of HSCG-dig and a complete rescue was confirmed with 5-10
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µg/mL HSCG, whereas the other conditions tested showed no significant recovery of the decreased
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GSH (Figure 2B). GSH is the main non-enzymatic cellular antioxidant attenuating oxidative stress
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by acting as both a reducing agent and a substrate of glutathione peroxidase. Maintaining GSH
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levels above a critical threshold is therefore a crucial issue to guarantee cell survival under
228
oxidative stress conditions.
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The present GSH data agree with previous results obtained in the same cell line with other coffee
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constituents,15,40 and clearly indicates that cells exposed to HSCG and HSCG-dig showed a
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protected redox status in a situation of oxidative stress. Thus, the protective mechanism of HepG2
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cell integrity and functionality by HSCG samples can be described in terms of regulation of the
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cellular redox status, as a consequence of the scavenging of ROS by HSCG which would result in
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the recovery of GSH and reduced oxidative damage and cell death.
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Notably, in all the cellular assays performed no significant protective effect was observed for the
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HSCG-res sample, suggesting that most part of the beneficial antioxidant activity exhibited by
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HSCG is transferred to the soluble, potentially bioaccessible fraction. Although much of the
238
evidence for bioactivity of polyphenols evaluated on cell lines may be of little significance in vivo,41
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HSCG-ferm containing human gut microbiota derived metabolites may be considered much more
240
relevant in this regard.
241 242
Structural Transformations of HSCG Following Simulated Digestion and Fermentation.
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To gain an insight into the structural transformations that occur following simulated digestion-
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fermentation of HSCG, the ATR-FTIR spectra of HSCG and HSCG-res were recorded and are
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shown in Figure 3, together with the subtracted spectrum (HSCGS-res – HSCG). In the high
246
frequency region, HSCG and HSCG-res showed similar spectral profiles, with a broad band located
247
at 3300 cm-1 and a pattern of signals in the 2900-2800 cm-1 range. These features are due to
248
hydroxyl groups of cellulose and hemicellulose10 and to the hydrocarbon moieties of lignins,42
249
respectively. A decrease in these latter signals is observed in the subtracted spectrum, indicating ACS Paragon Plus Environment
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partial hydrolysis of lignins following the simulated digestion-fermentation, which could in part
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account for the higher antioxidant activity observed for the soluble, potentially bioaccessible
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fractions compared to HSCG-res. At lower wavenumbers, HSCG shows two absorption bands in
253
the carbonyl stretching region, located at 1740 and 1705 cm-1, likely due to acetyl groups of
254
hemicellulose and carboxylic acids, respectively.43 The subtracted spectrum shows a remarkable
255
reduction of these signals in HSCG-res, likely due to hydrolysis and removal of hemicellulose and
256
carboxylic acid constituting HSCG following the enzymatic treatment. No other significant
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differences could be observed among the two samples, either in the cellulose/hemicellulose alcohol
258
C-O stretching region (bands at 1160, 1060 and 1034 cm-1)44 or in the aromatic skeleton vibrations
259
(1615 ant 1515 cm-1) and C-H bending of aromatic methoxy groups (1461 and 1110 cm-1).45 The
260
increase in absorption in the 1600-1500 cm-1 range in the HSCG-res spectrum can be attributed to
261
the amide groups of some residual enzymes used for the simulated digestion-fermentation
262
treatment.
263
To gain information about the nature of the components released from HSCG following simulated
264
digestion and fermentation, the soluble fractions HSCG-dig and HSCG-ferm were preliminarily
265
analyzed by both HPLC and 1H NMR, but no significant differences were observed compared to
266
control mixtures containing enzymes and other ingredients but no HSCG. Accordingly, to avoid
267
interferences from these components, in other experiments the HSCG-dig and the HSCG-ferm
268
samples were taken to pH 1 and repeatedly extracted with ethyl acetate. HPLC analysis with UV
269
detection at 254 nm of the organic extractable fraction from HSCG-dig showed the presence of
270
minute amounts of chromatographically defined compounds but significant quantities of organic
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polymeric material eluted as a broad peak at the end of the gradient program. The presence of
272
conjugated, aromatic polymer was also well apparent from the UV-vis spectrum of the organic
273
extract of HSCG-dig reported in Figure 4, featuring a broadband absorption in the range 200-600
274
nm, with maxima at around 280 and 310 nm, typical of lignin moieties with hydroxycinnamic acid
275
type structures;46-48 for comparison the UV-vis spectrum of the organic extractable fraction from the ACS Paragon Plus Environment
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control, simulated digestion mixture not containing HSCG is also shown at the same concentration,
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displaying no significant absorption above 300 nm. Unfortunately, all attempts to further
278
characterize the main extractable components of HSCG-dig by NMR failed, likely due to the great
279
chemical heterogeneity of lignin polymers.
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Very little information could be obtained on the ethyl acetate extractable fraction of HSCG-ferm:
281
apparently no polymeric material was present in this case, as highlighed by both HPLC and UV-vis
282
analysis, suggesting efficient metabolization of the lignin moieties by the colonic microflora;
283
however, not very significant differences could be observed either in the elutoghraphic profiles or in
284
the UV-vis or NMR spectra when the extractable fraction of HSCG-ferm was compared with that
285
obtained form a control fermentation mixture not containing HSCG.
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Prebiotic Activity of HSCG.
287
Given the nutritional composition of SCG,12 and the presence of insoluble components, these by-
288
products should have an interesting activity on the gut microbiota. Since it was found that SCG
289
increase the levels of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. after in vitro fermentation,12 we
290
decided to analyze the effect of microbial fermentation over HSCG by determination of changes in
291
microbial composition and production of SCFAs, which are known to have healthy properties such
292
as immunomodulation through their attachment to the GPR43 receptor.49 Table 2 shows the changes
293
in microbial composition after fermentation of HSCG, compared to those produced by a
294
commercial milk beverage enriched with a probiotic strain known to produce large amount of
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SCFAs after fermentation, a positive control made of inulin (a commercial prebiotic) and a control
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sample (fermentative medium without any nutrient). HSCG showed a clear prebiotic activity since
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its fermentation increased the population of Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillum spp.
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(compared with the control), which are known microbial species with healthy properties. At the
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same time, a decrease (compared with the control) was observed on Clostridium spp. and
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Bacteroides spp., which are microorganisms related with different pathologies. The same effect was
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also obtained for the milk beverage and inulin (probiotic and prebiotic controls, respectively). ACS Paragon Plus Environment
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However, the amount of Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillum spp. was statistically higher (P
