Search

The benefits of goat milk, fermented milks, and probiotics for the humans are well documented. In this study, a novel fermented goat milk was manufactured with the putative probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum C4 together with L. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Ultrafiltration was chosen as the skimmed milk concentration method because it produced the best viscosity and syneresis and a high casein content. The viability rate of all bacterial strains was >107 cfu/mL, even after 5 weeks of storage or after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, which is especially important for exertion of the probiotic strain functionalities. This fermented milk is also a good source of nutrients, having a low lactose and fat content, high protein proportion, and good mineral concentration. According to these data and the overall acceptability described by panelists, this fermented milk is a healthy dairy product comparable with commercially available fermented milks., This study was financially supported by research funds from project AGR-141 from the Consejería de Ciencia y Empresa (Junta de Andalucía).

Lactobacillus plantarum C4, previously isolated from kefir and characterized as a potential probiotic strain, was tested for its protective and immunomodulatory capacity in a murine model of yersiniosis. The inoculation of BALB/c mice with a low pathogenicity serotype O9 strain of Yersinia enterocolitica results in a prolonged intestinal infection with colonization of Peyer's patches. Pretreatment with C4 was without effect on fecal excretion of yersiniae, but shortened the colonization of Peyer's patches. This protective effect was associated with pro-inflammatory status in the intestinal mucosa (TNF-α production in infected mice was increased by C4) and an increase in total IgA secretion. At a systemic level, C4 did not promote a pro-inflammatory response, although production of the immunoregulatory cytokine IFN-γ was enhanced. These findings suggest that L. plantarum C4 can increase resistance to intestinal infections through its immunomodulatory activity.

The application of ultrafiltration process has been proposed and used as an alternative to the addition of powdered milk in the production of fermented goats’ milk. However, data about the effects of this process on nutritional properties of the final products are scarce. We evaluated the influence of milk ultrafiltration on Ca, Mg, Zn and P levels in experimental fermented goats’ milks, in comparison to the raw milk and commercial fermented goats’ milks. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used as analytical technique for Ca, Mg and Zn, and UV/VIS spectrophotometry for P. Ca and Mg levels in our experimental fermented products were significantly higher than in raw milk. In addition, higher contents of Ca, Zn and P were observed in the experimental ultrafiltered fermented goats’ milk, in comparison to the commercial ones. Significant linear correlations among Ca, Mg, Zn and P levels demonstrated the existence of important similarities in their behaviours in these products. It was concluded that ultrafiltration increases Ca, Zn and P concentrations and our products may constitute a better source of minerals compared to other products already on the market. Ultrafiltration could represent a great advance to concentrate milk for higher nutritional values fermented products manufacture.

Lactobacillus plantarum C4 has been tested in in vitro pH-controlled anaerobic faecal batch cultures as compared to Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG to determine changes caused to the composition of faecal bacteria. Effects upon major groups of the microbiota and levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) were assessed over 24 h. Concomitantly, hydrophobic character and ability of both bacterial cells to adhere in vitro to Caco-2 cells were investigated. Quantitative analysis of bacterial populations revealed that there was a significant increase in Lactobacillus/Enterococcus numbers in vessels with probiotic supplemented with fructooligosaccharides (FOS), compared to the negative control. L. plantarum C4 showed to have more hydrophilic behaviour and fulfilled better adhesive properties, compared to L. rhamnosus GG. Thus, L. plantarum C4 can modulate the intestinal microbiota in vitro, promoting changes in some numerically and metabolically relevant microbial populations and shifts in the production of SCFA.

Recently, an innovative gluten detoxification method called Gluten FriendlyTM (GF) has been developed. It induces structural modifications, which abolish the antigenic capacity of gluten and reduce the in vitro immunogenicity of the most common epitopes involved in coeliac disease, without compromising the nutritional and technological properties. This study investigated the in vitro effects of GF bread (GFB) on the faecal microbiota from healthy and coeliac individuals by a three-stage continuous fermentative system, which simulates the colon (vessel 1, proximal colon; vessel 2, transverse colon; vessel 3, distal colon), as well as on the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA, acetate, propionate, butyrate). The system was fed with GFB and the changes in microbiota through fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and in SCFA content were assessed. GFB exerted beneficial modulations such as bifidogenic effects in each compartment of the model both with healthy and coeliac derived samples, as well as growth in Clostridium clusters XIVa+b in coeliac derived samples. Furthermore, increased levels of acetic acid were found in vessel 1 inoculated with the faecal microbiota of healthy individuals, as well as acetic and propionic in vessel 1 and 2 with coeliac derived samples. In addition, the use of multivariate approaches showed that the supplementation of GFB could result in a different modulation of the faecal microbiota and SCFA, as a function of initial equilibrium.

Goat milk has been reported to possess good nutritional and health-promoting properties. Usually, it must be concentrated before fermented products can be obtained. The aim of this study was to compare physicochemical and nutritional variables among raw (RM), skimmed (SM), and ultrafiltration-concentrated skimmed (UFM) goat milk. The density, acidity, ash, protein, casein, whey protein, Ca, P, Mg, and Zn values were significantly higher in UFM than in RM or SM. Dry extract and fat levels were significantly higher in UFM than in SM, and Mg content was significantly higher in UFM than in RM. Ultrafiltration also increased the solubility of Ca and Mg, changing their distribution in the milk. The higher concentrations of minerals and proteins, especially caseins, increase the nutritional value of UFM, which may therefore be more appropriate for goat milk yogurt manufacturing in comparison to RM or SM.

Ca, Mg, Zn and P bioavailability from two experimental ultrafiltered fermented goats' milks (one of them with the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum and another one without it), and fermented goats' milk samples available in the market were evaluated. Solubility, dialysability and a model combining simulated gastrointestinal digestion and mineral retention, transport and uptake by Caco-2 cells were used to assess bioavailability. The highest Ca, Mg, Zn and P bioavailability values always corresponded to the fermented milk developed by our research group, which could be explained by the effect of milk ultrafiltration. The fermented milk with L. plantarum showed higher Ca retention than the ones without the microorganism, and major Ca uptake when compared to commercial products. This fact could be attributed to a positive effect exerted by the probiotic strain.

Background: There are very limited data regarding the effects of blueberry flavonoid intake on vascular function in healthy humans. Objectives: We investigated the impact of blueberry flavonoid intake on endothelial function in healthy men and assessed potential mechanisms of action by the assessment of circulating metabolites and neutrophil NADPH oxidase activity. Design: Two randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover human-intervention trials were conducted with 21 healthy men. Initially, the impact of blueberry flavonoid intake on flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and polyphenol absorption and metabolism was assessed at baseline and 1, 2, 4, and 6 h after consumption of blueberry containing 766, 1278, and 1791 mg total blueberry polyphenols or a macronutrient- and micronutrient-matched control drink (0 mg total blueberry polyphenols). Second, an intake-dependence study was conducted (from baseline to 1 h) with 319, 637, 766, 1278, and 1791 mg total blueberry polyphenols and a control. Results: We observed a biphasic time-dependent increase in FMD, with significant increases at 1–2 and 6 h after consumption of blueberry polyphenols. No significant intake-dependence was observed between 766 and 1791 mg. However, at 1 h after consumption, FMD increased dose dependently to ≤766 mg total blueberry polyphenol intake, after which FMD plateaued. Increases in FMD were closely linked to increases in circulating metabolites and by decreases in neutrophil NADPH oxidase activity at 1–2 and 6 h. Conclusions: Blueberry intake acutely improves vascular function in healthy men in a time- and intake-dependent manner. These benefits may be mechanistically linked to the actions of circulating phenolic metabolites on neutrophil NADPH oxidase activity. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01292954 and NCT01829542.

We determined calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc levels in a total of 27 samples of commercial goat- and cow-milk fermented products and 9 samples of a goat-milk fermented product with addition of a probiotic bacterial strain, Lactobacillus fermentum D3, manufactured experimentally by our research group. Atomic absorption spectroscopy with flame atomization and UV/VIS spectrophotometry were used as analytic techniques. The results of an in vitro digestion process showed that the bioavailability of calcium, phosphorus, and zinc was significantly higher in our fermented milk containing the probiotic bacterial strain than it was in commercial goat-milk fermented products. Furthermore, our product showed a significantly higher bioavailability of calcium and zinc compared to goat- and cow-milk fermented products made with other microorganisms. We conclude that, in in vitro assays, strain D3 seems to increase the bioavailability of these minerals and that this new product may constitute a better source of bioavailable minerals compared to other products already on the market.