RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggested that the prebiotic ability of ß-glucan was intimately related to its molecular weight (Mw ). However, the effect of oat ß-glucan with differing Mw on gut homeostasis was inconsistent. Importantly, knowledge of the fermentation properties of oat ß-glucan fractions was still limited. The present study aimed to evaluate the prebiotic potential of raw and hydrolyzed oat ß-glucan during in vitro fermentation by fecal microbiota and selected probiotic strains. RESULTS: The results obtained showed that both oat ß-glucan (OG) and hydrolysates (OGH) comparably promoted the growth of fecal Lactobacillus counts (P < 0.05). Importantly, OGH revealed greater fermentability compared to OG as denoted by lower pH value and higher short-chain fatty acid concentration (P < 0.05). Moreover, OGH was found to be more favorable to provide growth substrates for Lactobacillus helveticus R389 (LR389), Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG ATCC 53103 (LGG) and Bifidobacterium longum BB536 (BB536) than OG, and was preferentially utilized by LR389, LGG and BB536 as the sole carbon source. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that oat ß-glucan hydrolysates could serve as a more promising material for developing novel symbiotic foods. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.