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Catabolism of citrus flavanones by the probiotics Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus

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Abstract

Purpose

Orange juice (OJ) flavanones undergo limited absorption in the upper gastrointestinal tract and reach the colon where they are transformed by the microbiota prior to absorption. This study investigated the ability of two probiotic bacteria, Bifidobacterium longum R0175 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus subsp. Rhamnosus NCTC 10302 to catabolise OJ flavanones.

Methods

The bacteria were incubated with hesperetin-7-O-rutinoside, naringenin-7-O-rutinoside, hesperetin and naringenin, and the culture medium and intracellular cell extracts were collected at intervals over a 48 h of incubation period. The flavanones and their phenolic acid catabolites were identified and quantified by HPLC–HR–MS.

Results

Both probiotics were able to subject hesperetin to ring fission yielding 3-(3′-hydroxy-4′-methoxyphenyl)propionic acid which was subsequently demethylated producing 3-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)propionic acid and then via successive dehydroxylations converted to 3-(3′-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid and 3-(phenyl)propionic acid. Incubation of both bacteria with naringenin resulted in its conversion to 3-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid which underwent dehydroxylation yielding 3-(phenyl)propionic acid. In addition, only L. rhamnosus exhibited rhamnosidase and glucosidase activity and unlike B. longum, which was able to convert hesperetin-7-O-rutinoside and naringenin-7-O-rutinoside to their respective aglycones. The aglycones were then subjected to ring fission and further catabolised in a similar manner to that described above. The flavanones and their catabolites were found in the culture medium but not accumulated in the bacterial cells.

Conclusions

These findings demonstrate the enzymatic potential of single strains of bifidobacterium and lactobacillus which may be involved in the colonic catabolism of OJ flavanones in vivo.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Mary Ann Augustin (CSIRO, Australia) for supplying the B. longum and Professor Malcolm Jackson (University of Liverpool, UK) for providing a sample of L. rhamnosus. This work has been funded by the Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fishery Research and Training (IFAPA) through the Project PP.AVA.AVA201301.7 and the European Social (ESF) and Rural Development Funds (ERDF). GP-C is supported by a postdoctoral research contract funded by IFAPA and ESF. IAL is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FJCI-2014-20689).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postharvest Technology and Agrifood Industry Area, Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fishery Research and Training (IFAPA), Alameda del Obispo, Córdoba, Spain

    Gema Pereira-Caro, Begoña Fernández-Quirós, Inmaculada Pradas & José Manuel Moreno-Rojas

  2. Department of Food Technology, Universitat de Lleida, Lleida, Spain

    Iziar A Ludwig

  3. Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Alan Crozier

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  1. Gema Pereira-Caro
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  2. Begoña Fernández-Quirós
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Correspondence to Gema Pereira-Caro.

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Pereira-Caro, G., Fernández-Quirós, B., Ludwig, I. et al. Catabolism of citrus flavanones by the probiotics Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus . Eur J Nutr 57, 231–242 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-016-1312-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-016-1312-z

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