Abstract
Gut microbiota is able to affect body weight by fermenting dried fibers and generating short chain fatty acids (SCFA). Acacia senegal is an edible dried which might have potential prebiotic activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Acacia senegal as potential prebiotic on the composition and activity of human colonic microbiota of obese healthy subjects. In order to identify a potential prebiotic effect of Acacia senegal on obese individuals, anaerobic, pH-controlled batch cultures system was applied. The growth of different microbes and the concentration of lactic acid and short chain fatty acids were studied at 0, 6, 12, 24 and 36 hrs using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and HPLC respectively. The results showed that Acacia senegal was able to simulate the microbiota population since it significantly increased (P>0.05) the population of Bifidobacterium and decreased the population of Clostridium. Moreover, the supplement of Acacia senegal to the models significantly modulate short-chain fatty acid concentration. These findings clearly identified Acacia senegal as an additional contributing factor to the gut microbiota of obese subject and suggest that Acacia senegal could be an interesting supplement for obese human which might help to control obesity.
Highlights
The prevalence of obesity is escalating in communities worldwide (Nguyen and El-Serag, 2010)
fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses were performed to enumerate different bacterial species in fermented substrates collected from the study group
The findings of this study were in line with Kalliomaki et al (2008) who stated that; a minimum population of Bifidobacteria at childbirth has been linked with gaining weight later in childhood
Summary
The prevalence of obesity is escalating in communities worldwide (Nguyen and El-Serag, 2010). Diet has altered significantly to food with high energy density that has low dietary fiber, which led to low production of satisfaction and satiety signals (Prentice and Jebb 2003; Popkin et al, 2012). Several researchers claimed that large consumption of dietary fiber, such as gum arabic (GA) is linked with considerable and favorable impact on metabolism of fat (Ali et al, 2009; Slavin, 2003). Postbiotics are the principle product of the probiotic metabolism of Ahallil et al / Food Research 4 (3) (2020) 814 - 822 nondigestible carbohydrates in the gut and one of these major postbiotics is short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) (Wong et al, 2006; Lunn and Buttriss, 2007). Reimer (2012) revealed that adult rat that devoured a weaning regimen supplied with prebiotic was preserved from obesity when compared with a westernstyle diet high in fat
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