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In vitro fermentation of lupin seeds (Lupinus albus) and broad beans (Vicia faba): dynamic modulation of the intestinal microbiota and metabolomic output

Publication . Gullón, Patricia; Tavaria, Freni; Vasconcelos, Marta; Gomes, Ana Maria

Broad beans (Vicia faba) and lupin seeds (Lupinus albus) are legumes rich in a wide range of compounds, which may represent a useful dietary approach for modulating the human gut microbiome. In this work, after in vitro digestion, legume samples were used as carbon sources in anaerobic batch cultures to evaluate their impact on the intestinal microbiota composition and on their metabolic products. The fermentations were monitored by a decrease in pH, generation of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and lactate and the changes in the dynamic bacterial populations by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The total SCFA at the end of fermentation was 81.52 mM for lupin seeds and 78.41 mM for broad beans accompanied by a decrease of the pH for both legumes. The microbial groups that increased significantly (P < 0.05) were Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus-Enterococcus, Atopobium, Bacteroides-Pretovella, Clostridium coccoides-Eubacterium rectale, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia intestinalis. This impact on the intestinal microbiota suggests that lupin seeds and broad beans may be used in the development of novel functional foods, which can be included in dietary strategies for human health promotion.

2015Journal article

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Brazilian fruit pulps as functional foods and additives: evaluation of bioactive compounds

Publication . Paz, Mário; Gúllon, Patricia; Barroso, M. Fátima; Carvalho, Ana P.; Domingues, Valentina F.; Gomes, Ana M.; Becker, Helena; Longhinotti, Elisane; Delerue-Matos, Cristina

Eight tropical fruit pulps from Brazil were simultaneously characterised in terms of their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Antioxidant activity was screened by DPPH radical scavenging activity (126-3987 mg TE/100 g DW) and ferric reduction activity power (368-20819 mg AAE/100 g DW), and complemented with total phenolic content (329-12466 mg GAE/100 g DW) and total flavonoid content measurements (46-672 mg EE/100 g DW), whereas antimicrobial activity was tested against the most frequently found food pathogens. Acerola and acai presented the highest values for the antioxidant-related measurements. Direct correlations between these measurements could be observed for some of the fruits. Tamarind exhibited the broadest antimicrobial potential, having revealed growth inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella sp. and Staphylococcus aureus. Acai and tamarind extracts presented an inverse relationship between antibacterial and antioxidant activities, and therefore, the antibacterial activity cannot be attributed (only) to phenolic compounds.

2015Journal article

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In vitro assessment of the prebiotic potential of Aloe vera mucilage and its impact on the human microbiota

Publication . Gullón, Beatriz; Gullón, Patricia; Tavaria, Freni; Alonso, José Luis; Pintado, Manuela

Aloe vera mucilage is reported to be rich in acemannan that is a polysaccharide with a backbone of beta-(1 -> 4)-D-mannose residues acetylated at the C-2 and C-3 positions and contains some side chains of galactose and arabinose attached to the C-6 carbon. The evaluation of the prebiotic potential of Aloe vera mucilage was carried out by in vitro fermentation using intestinal microbiota from six healthy donors as the inoculum. The prebiotic activity was assessed through the quantification of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and the evaluation of dynamic bacterial population in mixed faecal cultures by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Our findings support the possible incorporation of the Aloe vera mucilage in the development of a variety of food products known as prebiotics aimed at improving gastrointestinal health.

2015Journal article

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Production of conjugated linoleic acid by food-grade bacteria: A review

Publication . Andrade, José C.; Ascenção, Kelly; Gullón, Patricia; Henriques, Silvino M. S.; Pinto, Jorge M. S.; Rocha-Santos, Teresa A. P.; Freitas, A. Cristina; Gomes, Ana Maria

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a group of isomers of linoleic acid (LA) with several potential health benefits which justifies the efforts to obtain foods with enhanced CLA contents. A possible way to obtain CLA-enriched products is via fermentation as several micro-organisms, many of which are employed in the manufacture of foods, are known to convert free LA into CLA. However, due to several constraints, the use of CLA-producing bacteria still remains challenging and continuous efforts are required. This review summarises the current knowledge on microbial CLA production by food-grade micro-organisms, its technical issues and limitations, potential applications and bioactivities.

2012Journal article

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Structural features and assessment of prebiotic activity of refined arabinoxylooligosaccharides from wheat bran

Publication . Gullón, Beatriz; Gullón, Patrícia; Tavaria, Freni; Pintado, Manuela; Gomes, Ana M. P.; Alonso, José Luis; Parajó, Juan Carlos

Wheat bran (WB) samples were subjected to two stage processing (aqueous extraction and hydrothermal treatment) to assess their potential as a raw material for the manufacture of xylan-derived prebiotics. The liquid phase from the second stage, containing hemicellulose- derived soluble arabinoxylooligosaccharides (AXOS), was refined by consecutive steps of membrane filtration and ion exchange. The purified AXOS were characterised by matrixassisted laser desorption/ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and chromatographic techniques. The most complex saccharide identified was made up of 19 pentoses. Human faecal slurry cultures were used to assess the bifidogenic activity of AXOS and their effects on the production of Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) and lactic acid. The results were compared with data obtained using fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which are accepted as the gold standard of a prebiotic ingredient. The stimulatory effects reached by AXOS upon the bifidobacterial population were of the same order as those obtained with FOS. Higher SCFA production was observed with AXOS in comparison with FOS.

2014Journal article

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