An evaluation of the prebiotic potential of microbial levans from Erwinia sp. 10119

• Main Authors: Chenxi Liu, Sofia Kolida, Dimitris Charalampopoulos, Robert A. Rastall
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-01-01
• Series: Journal of Functional Foods
• Subjects: Exopolysaccharide (EPS); Short chain fatty acid (SCFA); Gut model; Gut microbiota
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464619305924

Levan, a bacterial exopolysaccharide (EPS), has been suggested to have several biological activities, such as anti-tumour activity and lowering blood pressure. There has also been interest in its potential prebiotic activity. This study investigated the fermentation profile of a levan fraction from Erwinia sp. 10119 (average DP = 137) throughout a three-stage continuous gut model system, in which inulin HP (average DP = 40) was included as a comparison. Levan-type fructan was found to selectively stimulate the growth of Bifidobacterium and Eubacterium rectale - Clostridium coccoides group in all fermenter vessels, with significant (p < 0.05) increases in the concentration of both acetate and butyrate. The increases in Bifidobacterium population were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the models treated with levan-type fructan (0.8–1.24 log cell/mL) compared to the models treated with inulin HP (0.62–0.7 log cell/mL), indicating a stronger bifidogenic effect of levan-type fructan and a prolonged persistence in the colon due to its higher DP.