Gabriel Vinderola’s research while affiliated with Universidad Católica de Santa Fe and other places

The increasing prevalence of milk intolerance and dietary regimes avoiding dairy products have driven the growth of nondairy beverages with probiotics. Fruit smoothies enriched with lactic acid bacteria emerge as innovative alternatives. This study investigated the aptitude of a strawberry-orange-apple-banana smoothie to be fermented with the locally sourced potential probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LpAv (LpAv) and the commercial strain Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) under natural (pH = 3.5) or an adjusted pH (pH = 5.0). Moreover, the impact of incubation (37 ◦C for 18 h) and storage (28 d at 5 ◦C) of inoculated smoothies on the general quality and content and the in vitro intestinal and colonic bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds were studied. Lactobacilli did not ferment smoothies at pH = 3.5 but were an effective probiotic-delivering medium during storage (loads 7 log CFU/mL). Contrarily, smoothies at pH = 5.0 were fermented by lactobacilli, reaching bacteria levels of 9 log CFU/mL, with minimal reductions over storage. Fermentation increased the levels of some phenolic compounds such as ellagic acid (control: 0.4, LpAV: 0.6, LGG: 1.0 mg/100 mL), maintained or reduced the levels of others such as the anthocyanin pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside (control: 4.5, LpAV: 2.2, LGG: 2.6 mg/ 100 mL). However, the total bioaccessibility (intestinal plus colonic) of mainly phenolic compounds increased after fermentation and throughout the storage despite the observed degradations. Pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside intestinal bioaccessibility was 10 and 16 times higher than control in LpAv and LGG fermented smoothies, respectively. This study demonstrated the positive effects of fermentation on improving the phenolic compound bioaccessibility and highlights the potential of fruit smoothies as lactobacilli carriers.

The potential probiotic properties of Limosilactobacillus fermentum Lf2, an exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing strain, were assessed in C57BL/6 mice. The aim of this work was to elucidate if these properties could be associated with the ability to produce EPSs. Mice were divided into three treatments: L (mice treated with Lf2), E (animals that received EPSs), and C (control group). The levels of fecal acetic and propionic acids significantly increased in L and E compared with C. Catalase activity increased in L in comparison with the other groups in the liver and small intestine. The enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase increased in the large intestine for L compared with C. In addition, in the large intestine, the concentration of TNF-α was reduced in L and E in comparison with C. In the small intestine, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-12, and IL-6 presented lower levels in L and E than C. The analysis of the gut microbiota showed that L presented higher levels of Peptococcaceae and Rikenellaceae, while E had higher levels of Peptococcaceae than C. Overall, these results provide new insights into the relationship between the probiotic properties of lactic acid bacteria and their ability to produce EPSs.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are the specific and selective growth substrate for bifidobacteria, preventing pathogen adhesion, modulating the immune system, and impacting neurodevelopment. Human milk is the best food for the neonate; infant formulas enriched with HMOs are indicated when human milk is not possible or sufficient. HMOs developed and added to available infant formulas are 2'-FL (2'-fucosyl lactose), 3-FL (3-fucosyl lactose), 3'-SL (3'-sialyl lactose), 6'-SL (6'-sialyl lactose), LNT (lacto-N-tetraose), and 3'-GL (3'-galactosyl lactose), the latter being produced in situ by microbial fermentation. These HMOs are safe and contribute to satisfactory infant development. In addition, they were shown to promote the development of the intestinal microbiota in a way that is more similar to that of infants fed human milk than that of infants fed formula without HMOs.

Environmental-, animal-, and plant-associated factors are involved in the intake and digestibility of forages. Ferulated crosslinks are key targets for increasing the extent of fiber digestion in forages, for which ferulic acid esterase-producing lactic acid bacteria (FAE+ LAB) arise as silage inoculants that could beneficially impact animal husbandry. In this review article, we analyze the published effects of these inoculants on silage fiber composition, digestibility measures, ferulic acid content, and animal performance. To date, 17 FAE+ LAB strains have been evaluated in ensiling trials, obtaining variable results. When significant effects were detected, reductions in the content of neutral or acid detergent fiber (1.3-6.6% DM, compared with uninoculated silages) and increased digestibility measures (1.4-9.6% DM) were the most frequent outcomes. FAE+ LAB increased the free FA content of silages in several reports. Factors involved in the variability of responses have been scarcely evaluated but include inoculant strain, strain-forage combination, forage characteristics, and ensiling conditions. Two studies indicate that productive and health improvements were obtained when FAE+ LAB-inoculated silages were predominant in the diet of growing steers or dairy goats. Additional research is needed to understand the factors associated with the performance of FAE+ inoculants and the extent of their potential benefits for animal nutrition.

This work aims to develop and characterize potentially functional yogurts (high-proteins, with bifidobacteria, reduced in lactose and with in situ produced GOS) through combined strategies of ultrafiltration (UF) and the addition of dairy powder ingredient (whey protein concentrate 35% and 80% (WPC35 and WPC80) respectively, and skim milk powder (SMP)). Four yogurt formulations were tested: UF milk (Y1); UF milk and WPC80 (Y2); UF milk and WPC35 (Y3); and skim milk, SMP, and WPC80 (Y4). Carbohydrates, organic acids, particle size distribution, physicochemical, microbiological, rheological, and textural parameters were determined. Y4 presented the highest apparent diameter of casein micelles for both untreated and heat-treated milk, and Y1 presented the lowest values; size particle distributions were different among formulations. The yogurts had high protein content (6.61–7.88 g/100 g) were reduced in lactose (0.55–1.79 g/100 g) and contained GOS (0.33–0.71 g/100 g). All formulations were successful in maintaining Bifidobacteria (Bifidobacterium lactis INL1) and Streptococcus counts at high counts (> 8.5 log CFU/g) during storage. The highest carbohydrate concentrations were for Y3 and Y4 yogurts, reaching the highest GOS concentration. All yogurts exhibited thixotropic behavior. Y4 yogurt showed a slightly different flow behavior than the other samples, exhibiting a higher flow behavior index and higher Kokini viscosity. Y2 and Y4 yogurts presented higher hardness; besides, Y4 presented a clear advantage in water holding capacity. The overall quality of yogurts was satisfactory, showing high potential as functional dairy products.