616
Views
13
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
In vitro and animal studies

Potential prebiotic effect of a long-chain dextran produced by Weissella cibaria: an in vitro evaluation

, , , , ORCID Icon, , & show all
Pages 563-571 | Received 15 Oct 2019, Accepted 30 Dec 2019, Published online: 07 Jan 2020
 

Abstract

Dextrans are homopolysaccharides of D-glucose units produced by lactic acid bacteria. They have several technological applications and potential utilisation in positively modulating gut microbiota is attracting increasing attention. Whereas the prebiotic activity of low polymerisation degree (DP) dextrans has been established, high DP dextrans still deserve deeper investigation. In the present study, a long linear chain dextran produced by Weissella cibaria was compared to inulin with regards to the growth of specific health-related taxa and to the production of organic acids in pH-controlled batch cultures of intestinal microbiota. qPCR quantification of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Prevotella, Bacteroides fragilis, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii revealed differences in their relative abundance, depending on the carbon source, that reflected the pattern of fermentation products determined by HPLC. Dextran mainly enhanced the relative amount of Prevotella and Bacteroides, consistently with a favourable acetate–propionate ratio suggesting a promising utilisation as functional ingredient in the food industry.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to BIO-e.r.g. S.r.l. for having provided the NEXTDEXT® dextran. The authors are also grateful to PhD Alessia Levante for having performed statistical analysis on real-time PCR data.

Disclosure of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.