ARS | Publication request: Synbiotic matrices derived from plant oligosaccharides and polysaccharides

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Symposium Series
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: October 15, 2008
Publication Date: October 15, 2008
Citation: Hotchkiss, A.T., Liu, L.S., Call, J.E., Cooke, P.H., Luchansky, J.B., Rastall, R.A. 2008. Synbiotic matrices derived from plant oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. In N. Parris, L. Liu, C. Song and P. Shastri (eds.), New Delivery Systems for Controlled Drug Release from Naturally-Occurring Materials, American Chemical Society Symposium Series, Washington, DC. pp.69-77.

Interpretive Summary: The enormous volume of fruit and vegetable processing residues, such as orange peels and sugar beet pulp, represents an underutilized domestic resource of valuable health-promoting compounds. These residues have been used as cattle feed ingredients, but as such their value is low (under $0.05/pound) and there is more supply than demand for cattle feed. However, these residues are rich in valuable carbohydrates such as pectin. Pectin is a plant carbohydrate traditionally used in jelly and jam production. However, pectin also has health-related benefits that include stimulating the growth of friendly, health-promoting bacteria in the colon. Modified citrus pectin is a dietary supplement commercial product with demonstrated efficacy to prevent the recurrence of prostate cancer in men. We demonstrate for the first time that pectin fragments and modified citrus pectin can be used in a matrix to encapsulate friendly, health-promoting bacteria thereby enhancing their survival and increasing self-life of these products. Further development of these carbohydrate materials into commercial products will add value to the U.S. citrus crop, citrus processing industry, and will benefit growers, processors as well as consumers.

Technical Abstract: A porous synbiotic matrix was prepared by lyophilization of alginate and pectin or fructan oligosaccharides and polysaccharides cross-linked with calcium. These synbiotic matrices were excellent physical structures to support the growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus (1426) and Lactobacillus reuteri (1428) under anaerobic conditions in liquid culture medium. When the matrix was inoculated with lactobacilli and stored at 4 degrees C under aerobic conditions for a month, bacterial viability was preserved even though the synbiotic dried to a hard pellet.