Abstract
Chitin-glucan (CG) represents a natural carbohydrate source for certain microbial inhabitants of the human gut and may act as a prebiotic for a number of bacterial taxa. However, the bifidogenic activity of this substrate is still unknown. In the current study, we evaluated the ability of chitin-glucan to influence growth of 100 bifidobacterial strains belonging to those species commonly identified within the bifidobacterial communities residing in the infant and adult human gut. Such analyses were coupled with transcriptome experiments directed to explore the transcriptional effects of CG on Bifidobacterium breve 2L, which was shown to elicit the highest growth performance on this natural polysaccharide. In addition, an in vivo trial involving a rat model revealed how the colonization efficiency of this bifidobacterial strain was enhanced when the animals were fed with a diet containing CG. Altogether our analyses indicate that CG is a valuable novel prebiotic compound that may be added to the human diet in order to re-establish/reinforce bifidobacteria colonization in the mammalian gut.
Highlights
Chitin-glucan (CG) represents a natural carbohydrate source for certain microbial inhabitants of the human gut and may act as a prebiotic for a number of bacterial taxa
One hundred bifidobacterial strains previously isolated from the human environment, were evaluated for their ability to grow on CG, as unique carbon source
The bifidobacterial collection used in this project included strains belonging to Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis, isolated from various commercial products sold as probiotics
Summary
Chitin-glucan (CG) represents a natural carbohydrate source for certain microbial inhabitants of the human gut and may act as a prebiotic for a number of bacterial taxa. For those bifidobacterial strains showing an identical or higher growth level in MRS w/o glu + CG vs MRS, growth performances were further evaluated using a different approach, i.e. viable cell count on MRS Agar (Table 1). Three bifidobacterial strains, i.e., B. bifidum LMG 11041, B. breve 31L and B. dentium LMG 11405, were selected as controls, since these strains showed reduced growth levels in MRS w/o glu + CG when compared to the cell numbers reached when grown on MRS.
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