Purpose

Argan press cake (APC) is a by-product of argan oil extraction and is rich in cellulose, proteins, sucrose, phenolic compounds, and excessively bitter and acrid triterpenoids. Improvement in the antioxidant property of APC by fermentation (F-APC) with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Argan-L2 has been reported. However, the bitter and acrid tastes remain in F-APC. Here, in order to determine the applicability of APC and F-APC as functional food materials by reducing its bitter taste, the effects of ethanol-precipitated APC and F-APC on mice fed a high-sucrose and low-fibre diet were determined.

Methods

Compounds precipitated from 10% (w/v) APC and F-APC water suspensions with two volumes of ethanol were collected (APC-P, F-APC-P). The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were fed 50% (w/w) sucrose with no fibre (NF), 5% APC-P, or 5% F-APC-P for 14 days. The caecal microbiome was analysed via 16S rDNA (V4 region) sequencing.

Results

No bitter and acrid tastes were detected in the precipitates. Compared with those in the NF group, defaecation and the faecal weight were increased in the APC-P and F-APC-P groups. Additionally, blood lipid and glucose levels tended to be lower in the F-APC-P group. The abundance of caecal lactic acid-producing bacteria, such as Faecalibaculum rodentium and Lactobacillus johnsonii-like bacteria, was high in the APC-P group. In contrast, the abundance of indigenous L. plantarum-like bacteria was high in the F-APC-P group.

Conclusion

APC-P and F-APC-P showed dietary fibre properties. Furthermore, APC-P and F-APC-P increased indigenous lactic acid bacteria OTUs, although the increased species were different in the two groups. These results suggest that both APC-P and F-APC-P have beneficial effects on the gut microbiome, environment, and host.

Graphic abstract

中文翻译：

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乙醇沉淀的摩洛哥坚果蛋糕对高蔗糖饮食饲喂的小鼠盲肠微生物组的影响

目的

摩洛哥坚果滤饼（APC）是摩洛哥坚果油提取的副产品，富含纤维素，蛋白质，蔗糖，酚类化合物以及过多的苦味和辛酸三萜类化合物。已经报道了通过用植物乳杆菌Argan-L2发酵（F-APC）来改善APC的抗氧化性能。但是，苦味和辛辣的味道保留在F-APC中。在此，为了通过降低苦味来确定APC和F-APC作为功能性食品的适用性，确定了乙醇沉淀的APC和F-APC对高蔗糖和低纤维饮食喂养的小鼠的影响。

方法

收集从含两种体积的乙醇的10％（w / v）APC和F-APC水悬浮液中沉淀的化合物（APC-P，F-APC-P）。癌症研究所（ICR）小鼠被喂食50％（w / w）无纤维（NF），5％APC-P或5％F-APC-P的蔗糖，持续14天。通过16S rDNA（V4区）测序分析盲肠微生物组。

结果

在沉淀物中未检测到苦味和辛辣味。与NF组相比，APC-P和F-APC-P组的排便和粪便重量增加。另外，F-APC-P组的血脂和葡萄糖水平趋于降低。在APC-P组中，产生大量盲肠乳酸的细菌，例如啮齿类Faecalibaculum和约翰逊乳杆菌（Lactobacillus johnsonii）样细菌，数量很多。相反，在F-APC-P组中，本地植物乳杆菌样细菌的丰度很高。

结论

APC-P和F-APC-P具有膳食纤维特性。此外，尽管两组中增加的物种不同，但APC-P和F-APC-P增加了本地乳酸菌的OTU。这些结果表明，APC-P和F-APC-P均对肠道微生物组，环境和宿主具有有益的作用。

图形摘要