Modulation of Designed Gut Bacterial Communities by Prebiotics and the Impact of Their Metabolites on Intestinal Cells

The impact of prebiotics on human health is associated with their capacity to modulate microbiota, improving beneficial microbiota-host interactions. Herein, the prebiotic potential of microbial-fructo-oligosaccharides (microbial-FOSs) produced by a co-culture of Aspergillus ibericus plus Saccharomyces cerevisiae was evaluated on seven- and nine-strain bacterial consortia (7SC and 9SC, respectively), designed to represent the human gut microbiota. The 7SC was composed of Bacteroides dorei, Bacteroides vulgatus, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium longum, Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The 9SC also comprised the aforementioned bacteria, with the addition of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Roseburia faecis. The effect of microbial-FOSs on the metabolic activity of intestinal Caco-2/HT29-MTX-E12 co-culture was also assessed. The results showed that microbial-FOS selectively promoted the growth of probiotic bacteria and completely suppressed the growth of E. coli. The microbial-FOSs promoted the highest production rates of lactate and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) as compared to the commercial prebiotic Frutalose^® OFP. Butyrate was only produced in the 9SC consortium, which included the R. faecis-a butyrate-producing bacteria. The inclusion of this bacteria plus another Bacteroides in the 9SC promoted a greater metabolic activity in the Caco-2/HT29-MTX-E12 co-culture. The microbial-FOSs showed potential as promising prebiotics as they selectively promote the growth of probiotic bacteria, producing high concentrations of SCFA, and stimulating the metabolic activity of gut cells.