Impact of a fermented soy beverage supplemented with acerola by-product on the gut microbiota from lean and obese subjects using an in vitro model of the human colon

Antonio Diogo Silva Vieira,Hauke Smidt,Carlota Bussolo De Souza,Susana Marta Isay Saad,Erwin Gerard Zoetendal,Marina Padilha,Koen Venema

doi:10.1007/s00253-021-11252-8

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of soy-based beverages manufactured with water-soluble soy extract, containing probiotic strains (Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 and Bifidobacterium longum BB-46) and/or acerola by-product (ABP) on pooled faecal microbiota obtained from lean and obese donors. Four fermented soy beverages (FSs) (“placebo” (FS-Pla), probiotic (FS-Pro), prebiotic (FS-Pre), and synbiotic (FS-Syn)) were subjected to in vitro digestion, followed by inoculation in the TIM-2 system, a dynamic in vitro model that mimics the conditions of the human colon. Short- and branched-chain fatty acids (SCFA and BCFA) and microbiota composition were determined. Upon colonic fermentation in the presence of the different FSs formulations, acetic and lactic acid production was higher than the control treatment for faecal microbiota from lean individuals (FMLI). Additionally, SCFA production by the FMLI was higher than for the faecal microbiota from obese individuals (FMOI). Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. populations increased during simulated colonic fermentation in the presence of FS-Syn in the FMLI and FMOI. FS formulations also changed the composition of the FMOI, resulting in a profile more similar to the FMLI. The changes in the composition and the increase in SCFA production observed for the FMLI and FMOI during these in vitro fermentations suggest a potential modulation effect of these microbiotas by the consumption of functional FSs.Graphical abstractKey points• Soy beverages increased Bifidobacterium abundance in microbiota from obese individuals.• The synbiotic beverage increased Bifidobacterium abundance in microbiota from lean individuals.• The synbiotic beverage changed the microbiota from obese individuals, approaching the lean profiles.

Highlights

Fermented functional food, especially dairy products containing probiotic bacteria, “live microorganisms that, when administrated in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host” (Hill et al 2014), and prebiotic ingredients, “substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit” (Gibson et al 2017), have been extensively explored by researchers and the food industry (Vinderola et al 2017)
Significant differences were observed between the from lean individuals (FMLI) and the from obese individuals (FMOI) for all short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), except for butyric acid (Table 2)
Among the SCFA produced from dietary fibre fermentation by the colonic microbiota, acetate prevails in relation to propionate and butyrate (Chambers et al 2015), corroborating with the results here observed in FMLI and FMOI

Summary

Introduction

Especially dairy products containing probiotic bacteria, “live microorganisms that, when administrated in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host” (Hill et al 2014), and prebiotic ingredients, “substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit” (Gibson et al 2017), have been extensively explored by researchers and the food industry (Vinderola et al 2017). There is an emerging interest in acerola as a nutraceutical or functional food with remarkable market value, especially related to its extracts and bioactive compounds. These compounds have been related to health benefits including antioxidant and antitumor activity, antihyperglycemic effect, and skin protection activity, besides an increase in the adhesion of probiotic strains in the Caco-2 cell line model (Albuquerque et al 2019; Belwal et al 2018). ABP fermentation was reported to stimulate the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium (Bianchi et al 2019) This selective use of ABP as a source of fermentable compounds by beneficial microorganisms but not by members of the Clostridia class and Escherichia coli is one of the first characteristics expected from an ingredient with a potential prebiotic effect (Gibson et al 2017)

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