Modulation of microbiota and inflammatory intestinal processes by functional oat (Avena sativa) beverage

Abstract

Functional beverages that contain dietary fiber and phenolic compounds and/or are added with active ingredients such as prebiotics and probiotics, constitute a strategy to strengthen the barrier function and promote richness and diversity of the intestinal microbial community. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to develop a potentially synbiotic beverage based on oats (Avena sativa), fermented by Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus LRB (Sacco, Italy) and added inulin. The fermentation kinetics will be monitored by the CINAC system (Cynetique d'acidification, France). Proximate composition, microbiological quality and phenolic compounds of the beverage will be evaluated (UHPLC-PDA-Qda system), quantification of sugars (sucrose, fructose and glucose) throughout fermentation, as well as inulin dosage. The beverage will be subjected to simulated digestion (INFOGEST 2.0) and viability and metabolic activity analyzes of the potentially probiotic culture will be carried out by Flow Cytometry (CF) and cell morphology by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). To evaluate the modulation of inflammatory processes and intestinal barrier functions with in vitro models, cell viability assays, quantification of inflammatory cytokines (IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-±) and analysis of junction proteins will be evaluated proteins (ZO-1 and Claudin-1), in monolayers of differentiated Caco-2 cells, challenged by LPS and IL1-b. The modulation of the intestinal microbiota by the drink will be evaluated in a TIM-2 dynamic model, through analyzes of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and metataxonomics of the microbiota by Next Generation Sequencing. The variables will be analyzed by Two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test. A significance level of 5% (p< 0.05) will be considered. (AU)