Development of cellulose-based prebiotic fiber from banana peel by enzymatic hydrolysis

Abstract

Cellulose is a kind of dietary fiber that resists digestion and absorption in the human body. In addition to health benefits of cellulose ingestion with regard to body weight management, this fiber may also provide prebiotic activity if its solubility can be enhanced. In this study, cellulose extracted from banana peels was modified by enzymatic and diluted-acid hydrolysis in order to obtain the partially hydrolyzed cellulose, which is a water-soluble fiber, and prebiotic activity involving Lactobacillus plantarum, L. casei, and Escherichia coli was evaluated. The results revealed that enzymatic hydrolysis by Celluclast® provided higher contents of water-soluble cellulose and cellodextrins than did diluted-acid hydrolysis. The sugar pattern by thin layer chromatography also indicated that cellobiose and cellotriose significantly supported the growth and lactic acid production of probiotic strains. After enzymatic hydrolysis, the water-soluble cellulose was kept in 2 forms; 1) solution, and 2) dried powder. However, the dried powder could not be utilized as a sole carbon source by those bacteria since the lyophilization technique dramatically reduced the solubility of the sample. Interestingly, cellulose solution could promote the growth of L. plantarum TISTR2075, but it did not support the growth of E. coli TISTR073. This finding provides a positive prebiotic index value, which is higher than those from inulin, a commercially well-known prebiotic fiber. Therefore, this study presents a novel perspective on consumption of cellulose as a prebiotic fiber.