Lacticaseibacillus Casei IDCC 3451 Strengthen Digestibility of Plant-based Proteins in Mice.

Abstract

The demand for plant-based proteins as alternative meat sources continues to increase because of environmental concerns, animal welfare, and religious reasons. However, plant-based proteins have low digestibility than real meat, which should be overcome. In the present study, the effect of co-administration of legumin protein mixture and the probiotic strain on plasma concentration of amino acids was investigated as a strategy of enhancement in protein digestion. First, the proteolytic activity of the four probiotic strains was compared. As a result, Lacticaseibacillus casei IDCC 3451 was identified as an optimal probiotic strain that efficiently digested the legumin protein mixture by forming the largest halo produced by proteolysis. Next, to investigate whether the co-administration of legumin protein mixture and L. casei IDCC 3451 could synergicallyimprove digestibility, mice werefed either a high-protein diet or a high-protein diet withL. casei IDCC 3451 for 8weeks. Compared to only inthe high-protein diet only group, the concentrations of branched chain amino acids and essential amino acids were 1.36 and 1.41 times higher in the co-administered group, respectively. Therefore, co-supplementation of plant-based proteins withL. casei IDCC 3451 can be suggested toimprove proteindigestibility based on the this study.