Institute of Food Processing and Safety, College of Food Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.
Institute of Food Processing and Safety, College of Food Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China; Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610213, China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Jan 31;168:733-742. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.11.130. Epub 2020 Nov 21.
The aim of this study was to well understand the dynamic changes of physicochemical properties of polysaccharides from loquat leaves (LLP) during in vitro simulated saliva-gastrointestinal digestion and fecal fermentation and its related impacts on human gut microbiota. Results showed that the contents of reducing sugar of LLP slightly increased during the gastrointestinal digestion, and its molecular weight also slightly decreased, suggesting that LLP could be slightly degraded under the gastrointestinal digestion conditions. Moreover, during the fecal fermentation, the molecular weight of the indigestible LLP (LLP-I) significantly decreased, and the molar ratio of constituent monosaccharides of LLP-I, such as glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, galactose, and arabinose, significantly changed, indicating that LLP-I could be degraded and consumed by human gut microbiota. Indeed, some beneficial bacteria such as Megasphaera, Megamonas, Bifidobacterium, Phascolarctobacterium, and Desulfovibrio significantly increased, suggesting that LLP-I could change the composition and abundance of gut microbiota. LLP-I could also promote the production of health-promoting short chain fatty acids. Results from this study are benefical to well understand the in vitro digestion and fecal fermentation behaviors of LLP, and LLP can be developed as a potential prebiotic in the functional food industry.
本研究旨在深入了解枇杷叶多糖（LLP）在体外模拟唾液-胃肠消化和粪便发酵过程中理化性质的动态变化及其对人体肠道微生物群的相关影响。结果表明，在胃肠消化过程中，LLP 的还原糖含量略有增加，分子量也略有降低，提示 LLP 在胃肠消化条件下可能会发生轻微降解。此外，在粪便发酵过程中，不可消化的 LLP（LLP-I）的分子量显著降低，LLP-I 的组成单糖如葡萄糖醛酸、半乳糖醛酸、半乳糖和阿拉伯糖的摩尔比也发生显著变化，表明 LLP-I 可被人体肠道微生物群降解和利用。事实上，一些有益菌如巨球形菌、巨单胞菌、双歧杆菌、黄杆菌和脱硫弧菌显著增加，提示 LLP-I 可改变肠道微生物群的组成和丰度。LLP-I 还可促进有益短链脂肪酸的生成。本研究结果有助于深入了解 LLP 的体外消化和粪便发酵行为，可将 LLP 开发为功能性食品工业中一种有潜力的益生元。
