The behaviour of citrus pectin during digestion and its potential prebiotic properties were examined using a Dynamic Gastrointestinal Simulator (simgi®) model for the human gut, which simulates processes in the stomach, small intestine, ascending, transverse and descending colon. A remarkable non-digestibility of pectin in the upper gastrointestinal tract was observed by HPLC-ELSD analysis, where ~88% of citrus pectin remained intact during its transit through the stomach and small intestine. Fermentation of pectin stimulated the growth of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium spp, Bacteroides spp and Faecalobacterium prausnitzii. High increases of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) were observed, especially in acetate and butyrate produced due to direct fermentation of pectin or by cross-feeding interaction between bacteria. This is the first study on the digestibility and fermentation of pectin carried out in a complex dynamic gastrointestinal simulator, being of special relevance the results obtained for F. prausnitzii.

使用人类肠道动态胃肠道模拟器（simgi®）模型检查了柑桔果胶在消化过程中的行为及其潜在的益生元特性，该模型可模拟胃，小肠，上升，横向和下降结肠的过程。通过HPLC-ELSD分析观察到果胶在上消化道中具有非消化性，其中约88％的柑橘果胶在通过胃和小肠的过程中保持完整。果胶的发酵刺激有益细菌例如双歧杆菌属，拟杆菌属（Bacteroides spp）和粪杆菌（faecalobacterium prausnitzii）的生长。观察到短链脂肪酸（SCFA）的大量增加，尤其是在由于果胶直接发酵或细菌之间的交叉进料相互作用而产生的乙酸盐和丁酸盐中。这是在复杂的动态胃肠道模拟器中对果胶的可消化性和发酵性进行的首次研究，与对普劳森氏杆菌获得的结果特别相关。