Enhancement of Short Chain
Fatty Acid Production from Millet Fibres by Pure
Cultures of Probiotic Fermentation
Umar Farooq1,
Muhammad Mohsin2, Xiaoming Liu1
and Hao Zhang1*
1State Key Laboratory of Food
Science and Technology, School of Food
Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Lihu Road
1800, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu, China,
2University of Engineering and
Technology Lahore, Faisalabad Campus, Pakistan.
*For correspondence:
E-mail:
welcometoall19@hotmail.com or
zhanghao@jiangnan.edu.cn Tel:
+86-15161501530; +86-510-85912087
Received:
16 February
2013
Revised accepted:
25 March 2013
Tropical
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, April 2013;
12(2): 189-194
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v12i2.9
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose: To enhance the in vitro synthesis of
short chain fatty acids through millet dietary fibre
fermentation by human faecal probiotic bacteria.
Methods: The effect of millet dietary fibre
fermentation on production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA)
by four probiotics was studied. Dietary fibre was
extracted from two millet varieties viz Pearl millet,
Pennisetum glaucum (PM) and Foxtail millet (FxM, Setaria
italica), and separated into total dietary fibre (TDF),
insoluble dietary fibre (IDF) and soluble dietary fibre
(SDF). Four probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus rhamnosus,
Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum and
Bifidobacterium bifidus) were grown on specific medium
containing IDF, SDF and TDF. SCFA production by the
probiotics was measured at 0, 6, 24, and 48 h using gas
liquid chromatography.
Results: SCFA production in the fibre
fractions followed the rank order, TDF > SDF > IDF,
irrespective of millet variety, indicating that TDF is
the best possible dietary fibre for SCFA production.
Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria spp. digested 60 – 80
and 75 – 85 % of the millet fibre fractions from both
millet samples, respectively. The quantity of different
SCFAs produced was in the rank order: acetate >
propionate > butyrate.
Conclusion: The results from this study suggest
that millet dietary fibre has a potential for conversion
into new nutraceuticals.
Keywords:
Probiotic, Millet, Short chain fatty acid, Prebiotic,
Probiotic, Dietary fibre
