In vitro prebiotic potential of agricultural by-products on intestinal fermentation, gut barrier and inflammatory status of piglets.

In this study, chicory root and pulp, citrus pulp, rye bran and soy hulls have been tested in a three-step in vitro model of the piglet's gastro-intestinal tract combining a pepsin-pancreatin hydrolysis (digestion), a dialysis step using cellulose membranes (absorption) and a colonic batch fermentation (fermentation). The fermentation kinetics, short-chain fatty acid and microbiota profiles in the fermentation broth were assessed as indicators of prebiotic activity and compared to the ones of inulin. The immunomodulatory effects of fermentation supernatant (FS) were investigated in cultured intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) by high-throughput qPCR. Chicory root displayed a rapid and extensive fermentation and induced the second highest butyrate ratio after inulin. Citrus pulp demonstrated high acetate ratios and induced elevated Clostridium clusters IV and XIVa levels. Chicory root and pulp FS promoted the intestinal barrier integrity with upregulated tight and adherens junction gene expressions in comparison to inulin FS. Chicory pulp FS exerted anti-inflammatory effects in cultured IPEC-J2. The novel approach combining an in vitro fermentation model with IPEC-J2 cells highlighted that both chicory root and pulp appear to be promising ingredients and should be considered to promote intestinal health at weaning. PMID: 31699173 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: The British Journal of Nutrition - Category: Nutrition Authors: Tags: Br J Nutr Source Type: research