South China University of Technology, School of Food Science and Engineering, Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Food Nutrition and Human Health, Guangzhou 510640, China.
H&H Group, H&H Research, China Research and Innovation Center, Guangzhou 510700, China.
Food Res Int. 2024 Dec;197(Pt 1):115211. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115211. Epub 2024 Oct 22.
Probiotic supplementation is an effective method for improving infant gut health, and probiotic encapsulation can enhance probiotic viability under adverse environmental conditions while ensuring an adequate amount of probiotic is delivered to the target site to confer a health benefit for the host. In this study, Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 was microencapsulated using pectin or alginate, combined bovine milk osteopontin (OPN) as an excipient during the microencapsulation process. The microencapsulated probiotics were subjected to in vitro simulated infant gastrointestinal digestion and a fecal fermentation model to assess survival capacity and their impact on gas and organic acid production, as well as the development of gut microbiota. The results demonstrated that microencapsulation in the presence of osteopontin increased simulated gastrointestinal survival. During infant fecal fermentation, a significant increase in total gas production (5.5-9.1 mL) was observed for the microencapsulated probiotic with even higher level of gas production observed for osteopontin associated microencapsulated probiotic during the late stage of fermentation (8-24 h). Infant fecal fermentation of the microencapsulated probiotic also produced substantial amounts of acetate (8-17 mM) and lactate (12-35 mM), along with minor amounts of succinate (1-2 mM) and propionate (0.5-2 mM). A positive correlation was observed between metabolite production and the number of viable B. bifidum R0071 entering colon fermentation, which significantly increased with the use of OPN in the microencapsulation process. The osteopontin associated microencapsulated probiotic also significantly elevated the relative abundance of Veillonella, which, along with Bifidobacterium, influenced gas and metabolite production. Overall, our findings demonstrate that incorporating OPN as an excipient in the microencapsulation of Bifidobacterium bifidum R0071 enhances probiotic viability and positively influences the development of infant gut microbiota, highlighting its potential application in promoting infant health.
益生菌补充剂是改善婴儿肠道健康的有效方法，益生菌包埋可以增强益生菌在不利环境条件下的生存能力，同时确保将足够数量的益生菌递送到靶部位，从而为宿主带来健康益处。在这项研究中，使用果胶或海藻酸钠将双歧杆菌 R0071 微囊化，在微囊化过程中结合牛乳骨桥蛋白（OPN）作为赋形剂。将微囊化益生菌进行体外模拟婴儿胃肠道消化和粪便发酵模型，以评估其生存能力及其对气体和有机酸产生的影响，以及对肠道微生物群的发展的影响。结果表明，在存在骨桥蛋白的情况下进行微囊化可以提高模拟胃肠道的生存能力。在婴儿粪便发酵过程中，微囊化益生菌的总气体产生量（5.5-9.1 mL）显著增加，而与骨桥蛋白相关的微囊化益生菌在发酵后期（8-24 h）的气体产生量更高。微囊化益生菌的婴儿粪便发酵还产生了大量的乙酸（8-17 mM）和乳酸（12-35 mM），以及少量的琥珀酸（1-2 mM）和丙酸（0.5-2 mM）。代谢产物的产生与进入结肠发酵的存活双歧杆菌 R0071 的数量之间存在正相关关系，而在微囊化过程中使用 OPN 可显著增加该数量。与骨桥蛋白相关的微囊化益生菌还显著提高了韦荣球菌的相对丰度，其与双歧杆菌一起影响气体和代谢产物的产生。总的来说，我们的研究结果表明，将 OPN 作为双歧杆菌 R0071 微囊化的赋形剂，可以增强益生菌的生存能力，并对婴儿肠道微生物群的发展产生积极影响，这突出了其在促进婴儿健康方面的应用潜力。
