Kefir Culture-Mediated Fermentation to Improve Phenolic-Linked Antioxidant, Anti-Hyperglycemic and Human Gut Health Benefits in Sprouted Food Barley

Ramnarain Ramakrishna,Dipayan Sarkar,Munevver Dogramaci,Kalidas Shetty

doi:10.3390/applmicrobiol1020026

Ramnarain Ramakrishna, Dipayan Sarkar + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol1020026

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Journal: Applied Microbiology	Publication Date: Sep 17, 2021
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: North Dakota State University

Abstract

The bioprocessing strategy is an effective approach to improve bioavailability and stability of bioactive compounds for designing functional foods and ingredients. In this study, food barley was bio-transformed to improve functional bioactives by sprouting, coupled with beneficial lactic acid bacteria (LAB)-based fermentation. Dairy Kefir culture with mixed beneficial LAB strains was targeted to ferment aqueous slurries of sprouted hulless food barley flour (unpigmented, purple, and black barley) for 72 h, and modulation of phenolic-linked antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic functionalities were evaluated using in vitro assay models. The biochemical parameters analyzed were total soluble phenolic (TSP) content, profile of phenolic compounds, total antioxidant activity, and anti-hyperglycemic property-relevant α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzyme inhibitory activities. Furthermore, human gut health benefits of relevant properties of fermented slurries of barley flour were also evaluated based on growth of Kefir culture and subsequent determination of anti-bacterial potential against pathogenic human ulcer causing bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Kefir culture-mediated fermentation of 48-h sprouted barley flours improved the TSP content and associated antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic functionalities. Additionally, anti-bacterial potential against H. pylori and sustaining active growth of viable LAB cells above the minimum level required for probiotic activity were also observed in fermented food barley flour slurries.

Highlights

Consumer awareness of healthy diets is growing rapidly, resulting in increased demand for “functional” foods and beverages that may potentially impart enhanced health benefits
While barley grains are known to contain a considerable number of various types of phenolic compounds, their composition and content in barley-based food and beverages can vary widely depending on genotype, phenotype and based on growing environment and different food processing strategies [14,15]
The impact of different types of food barley varying in pigmentation and the effect of integrated bioprocessing strategy combining sprouting and mixed Kefir lactic acid bacteria (LAB) culture-based fermentation on total soluble phenolic (TSP)

Summary

Introduction

Consumer awareness of healthy diets is growing rapidly, resulting in increased demand for “functional” foods and beverages that may potentially impart enhanced health benefits. Among such foods, probiotics are prominent, and they consist of formulations containing sufficient numbers of selected live microorganisms that beneficially modify the intestinal microbiota of the host, thereby capable of imparting wider health benefits [1,2,3]. Cereal grains can be a viable alternative for developing novel non-diary probiotic rich foods to mitigate disadvantages associated with fermented dairy products in some consumers such as lactose intolerance, allergy, and the adverse impact on body cholesterol levels [5,6,7,8]. Phenolic bioactives from barley have potential antiproliferative, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties due to their high antioxidant

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