Evaluation of the behavior of potentially probiotic bacteria in culture medium supplemented with citrus pectin

Abstract

The food, medical and pharmaceutical industries are constantly looking for new products that provide better performance, lower environmental pollution and that are in turn functional. Among them are probiotics, prebiotics, etc. Probiotics are microorganisms that reach the final areas of the digestive tract, exerting a positive effect on the health of the human or animal consumer. However, in order for them to adhere and colonize, they need a diet rich in prebiotic substrates that generate an enabling environment. Prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients that promote the growth and / or activity of beneficial bacterial colon populations. In this sense, the prebiotic capacity of pectin, a polysaccharide complex present in plants, is still much discussed. The objective of this work was to evaluate the behavior of 3 potentially probiotic strains in a medium supplemented with citrus pectin. The extraction of pectin was carried out by the Acid Hydrolysis method, from residual lemon peels: wet and dehydrated. The lactic bacteria used were: Lactobacillus amylovorus LB31; Enterococcus faecium C14 and Enterococcus faecium C38. Bacterial growth was performed in LAPTg culture medium, with and without the addition of pectin. The pectin concentrations tested were (0.1, 0.5 and 1%). The results revealed that the strains evaluated were able to grow in all the concentrations of citric pectin experienced. The medium supplemented with 0.5% pectin obtained the highest growth of the 3 strains under study. The LB31 strain showed the highest growth in said medium