Prebiotic fiber from upcycled carrot pomace shows reliable fermentation across range of gut microbiota compositions
The study found that supplementation with the prebiotic fiber made from upcycled carrot pomace was successfully fermented regardless of the different microbial composition.
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A recent study1 utilizing the in vitro intestinal model called M-SHIME investigated the fermentability of carrot rhamnogalacturonan-I (cRG-1), marketed as BeniCaros by NutriLeads BV. The study used the fecal microbiota of four donors that had different baseline compositions to determine how the baseline composition influences the fermentation of the prebiotic fiber. Results showed that the substantial differences in baseline microbiotic compositions led to different fermentation patterns. While not fermented at the same efficiency, repeated dosing over three weeks led to overall similar results at the end of the experiment.
“The study results provide further evidence on how complex prebiotic fibers, such as BeniCaros, can reliably deliver health benefits,” said Joana Carneiro, PhD, NutriLeads chief executive officer, in a press release. “These findings are especially interesting for manufacturers of prebiotic health products aiming to deliver more effective propositions with predictable, consistent gut health benefits.”
According to the researchers, “arabinan, galactan and arabinogalactan sidechains were utilized before RG-I backbone” in a donor specific manner, leading to a consistent increase in Bifidobacteriaceae, “driven specifically by B. longum and B. adolescentis.” This makes sense because arabinan sidechains and galactan sidechains are preferred substrates for Bifidobacteriaceae. Additionally, the fermentation of carrot rhamnogalacturonan-I led to an increased production of short-chain fatty acids, specifically propionate.
Ruud Albers, PhD, NutriLeads founder and one of the co-authors, emphasized that “while different gut bacteria consortia may participate in the successive steps of cRG-I hydrolysis, repeated exposure to this high specificity fiber similarly stimulated beneficial bacteria and metabolites known to contribute to the positive effect on gut health across all donors.”
Reference
Desai, K.; Van den Abbeele, P.; Duysburgh, C.; Albers, R.; Wennekes, T.; Schols, H.A.; Mercenier, A. Structure dependent fermentation kinetics of dietary carrot rhamnogalacturonan-I in an in vitro gut model. Food Hydrocolloids. 2024, 153, 110036. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2024.110036
