The potential synergistic behaviour of inter- and intra-genus probiotic combinations in the pattern and rate of short chain fatty acids formation during fibre fermentation

Abstract

This study compared the rate of short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production by different probiotic combinations of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium to determine any synergistic effects. Six different fibre fractions were fermented with nine combinations of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LR), Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA), Bifidobacterium longum (BL) and Bifidobacterium breve (BB) for 0, 6, 24 and 48 h. SCFAs were quantified by gas chromatography. Inter-genus combinations of bacteria produced more SCFA, especially BB + BL + LR, compared to intra-genus that yielded the lowest SCFA production. Acetate was the most abundant, while propionate and butyrate were the most utilised. The SCFA formation was as acetate > propionate > butyrate and the total dietary fibre produced most of the SCFA. Most combinations utilised 60–80% of the fibre; BB + BL + LR digested the fibre completely. The quantity, pattern and the time of release of SCFA depends on the genus, but the combination of pre and probiotics is of great importance for the outcome.

Keywords:

• SCFA
• Lactobacillus
• Bifidobacterium
• rice fibre

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from the Asian Development Bank. All authors contributed to the literature search, analysis of the data published, manuscript writing and revisions of the article.

Disclosure satement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest arising from the conclusions of this research.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from the Asian Development Bank.