In vitro modulation of gut microbiota by whey protein to preserve intestinal health

Sánchez Moya, Teresa; López Nicolás, Rubén; Planes Muñoz, David; González-Bermúdez, C. A.; Ros Berruezo, Gaspar; Frontela Saseta, María del Carmen

Publication:
In vitro modulation of gut microbiota by whey protein to preserve intestinal health

dc.contributor.author	Sánchez Moya, Teresa
dc.contributor.author	López Nicolás, Rubén
dc.contributor.author	Planes Muñoz, David
dc.contributor.author	González-Bermúdez, C. A.
dc.contributor.author	Ros Berruezo, Gaspar
dc.contributor.author	Frontela Saseta, María del Carmen
dc.contributor.department	Tecnología de Alimentos, Nutrición y Bromatología
dc.contributor.other	Facultad de Veterinaria
dc.date.accessioned	2026-01-23T17:08:52Z
dc.date.available	2026-01-23T17:08:52Z
dc.date.copyright	© 2017, Royal Society of Chemistry
dc.date.issued	2017-06-21
dc.description.abstract	The effect of several types of whey milk – cow, sheep, goat and a mixture of them (60 : 20 : 20, respectively) – was assessed in the human gut microbiota. The prebiotic potential of these substrates was evaluated through in vitro gastrointestinal digestion following faecal batch culture fermentations (mimicking colonic fermentation) for 48 hours, using faeces from normal-weight (NW) and obese (OB) donors. Throughout the fermentation process, pH, gas production, short chain and branched fatty acids (SCFA-BCFA) were measured, as well as the changes of microbiota using qPCR. The pH decreased in all whey samples during the fermentation process. Gas production was higher in all whey samples than in controls, especially at 12 hours (p < 0.05). The diversity of SCFA and BCFA production was significantly different between the donors, in particular cow and mixed whey. Whey milk had a strong prebiotic effect on the gut microbiota of NW and OB donors, showing a significant increase of Bifidobacterium (p < 0.05) with cow, sheep and mixed whey and increase in the Lactobacillus group, particularly in OB donors. Bacteria associated with obesity did not show an increase in any of the groups of donors. Therefore, supplementing a diet with these types of whey can selectively stimulate the growth of probiotic bacteria, enhancing SCFA production, which could improve intestinal disorders. In addition, it may be an interesting approach to the prevention of overweight and obesity and related diseases. Whey milk has a potent prebiotic effect. It can selectively stimulate desirable bacteria and SCFA profile, in both OB and NW donors, contributing to improved intestinal health and reducing obesity. The effect of several types of whey milk – cow, sheep, goat and a mixture of them (60 : 20 : 20, respectively) – was assessed in the human gut microbiota. The prebiotic potential of these substrates was evaluated through in vitro gastrointestinal digestion following faecal batch culture fermentations (mimicking colonic fermentation) for 48 hours, using faeces from normal-weight (NW) and obese (OB) donors. Throughout the fermentation process, pH, gas production, short chain and branched fatty acids (SCFA-BCFA) were measured, as well as the changes of microbiota using qPCR. The pH decreased in all whey samples during the fermentation process. Gas production was higher in all whey samples than in controls, especially at 12 hours (p < 0.05). The diversity of SCFA and BCFA production was significantly different between the donors, in particular cow and mixed whey. Whey milk had a strong prebiotic effect on the gut microbiota of NW and OB donors, showing a significant increase of Bifidobacterium (p < 0.05) with cow, sheep and mixed whey and increase in the Lactobacillus group, particularly in OB donors. Bacteria associated with obesity did not show an increase in any of the groups of donors. Therefore, supplementing a diet with these types of whey can selectively stimulate the growth of probiotic bacteria, enhancing SCFA production, which could improve intestinal disorders. In addition, it may be an interesting approach to the prevention of overweight and obesity and related diseases. Whey milk has a potent prebiotic effect. It can selectively stimulate desirable bacteria and SCFA profile, in both OB and NW donors, contributing to improved intestinal health and reducing obesity.
dc.format	application/pdf
dc.format.extent	11
dc.identifier.citation	Food Funct., 2017,8, 3053-3063
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.1039/c7fo00197e
dc.identifier.eissn	2042-650X
dc.identifier.issn	2042-6496
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10201/192529
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Royal Society of Chemistry
dc.relation	The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 289800 (SATIN); http://www.satinsatiety.eu. We would like to thank Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) through the Project AGL2016-78125-R. Besides, we would like to thank the economic opportunity of the PhD grant (FPU MECD 13/02380) given by Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Spain).
dc.relation.publisherversion	https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/fo/c7fo00197e
dc.rights	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
dc.rights.accessRights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subject.ods	Objetivo 3: Salud
dc.title	In vitro modulation of gut microbiota by whey protein to preserve intestinal health
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersión
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