title: In vitro fermentation of alternansucrase raffinose-derived oligosaccharides by human gut bacteria.
abstract: In this work, in vitro fermentation of alternansucrase raffinose-derived oligosaccharides, previously fractionated according to their degree of polymerization (DP; from DP4 to DP10), was carried out using small-scale pH-controlled batch cultures at 37 °C under anaerobic conditions with human feces. Bifidogenic activity of oligosaccharides with DP4-6 similar to that of lactulose was observed; however, in general, a significant growth of lactic acid bacteria  Bacteroides ,  Atopobium  cluster, and  Clostridium histolyticum  group was not shown during incubation. Acetic acid was the main short chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced during the fermentation process; the highest levels of this acid were shown by alternansucrase raffinose acceptor pentasaccharides at 10 h (63.11 mM) and heptasaccharides at 24 h (54.71 mM). No significant differences between the gas volume produced by the mixture of raffinose-based oligosaccharides (DP5-DP10) and inulin after 24 h of incubation were detected, whereas lower gas volume was generated by DP4 oligosaccharides. These findings indicate that novel raffinose-derived oligosaccharides (DP4-DP10) could be a new source of prebiotic carbohydrates.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química Orgánica General (CSIC), Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Oswaldo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Hernandez
authors.forename: Gregory L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Côté
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kolida
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rastall
authors.forename: M Luz
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Sanz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005285:Fermentation; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008297:Male; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D011887:Raffinose / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D019344:Lactic Acid; D016695:Glycosyltransferases; C033837:alternansucrase; D011887:Raffinose