Effect of Flaxseed Mucilage and Gum Arabic on Probiotic Survival and Quality of Kefir during Cold Storage

Influence of flaxseed mucilage on the formation, composition, and properties of exopolysaccharides produced by different strains of lactic acid bacteria

Microorganisms produce a wide variety of polysaccharides. Due to biosafety considerations, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are popular producers of exopolysaccharides (EPS) for various applications. In this study, we analyzed the composition and properties of EPS produced by L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and LAB from clover silage (L. fermentum AG8, L. plantarum AG9) after growth on Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe broth (MRS) and with the addition of flaxseed mucilage (FSM) using chromatography, microscopy, and biochemical methods. We found that adding 0.4 % FSM does not drastically alter the medium's rheology but substantially increases EPS yield (by 3.1 to 3.8 times) and modifies the composition and macrostructure of EPS, as well as changes the spatial organization of LAB cells. The presence of FSM led to the production of xylose- and glucose-enriched EPS, which also contained varying proportions of fucose, rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, glycosamines, and uronic acids, depending on the strain. Most EPS had a low molecular weight (up to 32 kDa), except for EPS produced by L. fermentum AG8 in FSM-containing medium, which had molecular weight of 163 kDa. All EPS exhibited a porous microstructure and demonstrated scavenging capacity for OH- and DPPH-radicals, as well as high levels of α-glucosidase and lipase inhibitory activities, even at low concentrations (<1 g·L-1 of EPS). These characteristics make them promising for use in functional food production and medicine.

The effect of synbiotic coating of flaxseed mucilage-defatted rice bran carbohydrate on quality of dried mango, viability of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. LactisBB12 on storage and simulating gastrointestinal condition

In the present study, a synbiotic coating of flaxseed mucilage, defatted rice bran carbohydrate, and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis BB12 was fabricated for coating dried mango slices (M-P-C). The control samples contained only probiotic bacteria without coating (M-P). Several quality parameters (moisture, weight loss, shrinkage percentage, pH, firmness, and color) were assessed on specific storage circumstances (25°C, relative humidity (RH) = 22%.). In addition, the survival of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis BB12 was evaluated on storage and under simulated gastrointestinal (GI) conditions. According to the results, the log number of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis BB12 reached 8.1 and 6.2 for coated and uncoated samples, respectively, during the 45 days storage at 25°C (>6 log CFU (log colony-forming units)/g) and at finished stage of in vitro gastrointestinal circumstances, the log number of probiotic bacterial count reached 6.8 and 4 for coated and uncoated samples, respectively. The coating resulted in significantly less weight loss, moisture loss, and shrinkage of the mango slices than uncoated ones (p < .05). The growth of yeasts and molds was undetectable in both samples. The results of acceptance experiments for M-P and M-P-C dried mango samples showedthat there were no significant differences between M-P and M-P-C samples (p  >.05), indeed in the case of purchase intention and overall acceptability. After reading the text highlighting, there was no significant difference in all attributes of M-P-C samples pre and post of reading text highlighting. It could be concluded that the synbiotic coating of mango slices improved the quality characteristics of the dried mango as well as viability of the probiotic bacteria at storage time and under simulated gastrointestinal conditions.

Unveiling the potential of linseed mucilage, its health benefits, and applications in food packaging

Industrial waste products derived from the oil industry often contain valuable substances and elements with great potential. These by-products can be used for various purposes, including as nutrients, bioactive compounds, fuels, and polymers. Linseed mucilage (LM) is one such example of a beneficial by-product obtained from linseed. It possesses favorable chemical and functional properties, depending on its method of extraction. Different pretreatments, such as enzymatic extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, pulse electric field, and ultrasound-assisted extraction, have been explored by various researchers to enhance both the yield and quality of mucilage. Furthermore, LM has exhibited therapeutic effects in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, constipation, hyperlipidemia, cancer, and other lifestyle diseases. Additionally, it demonstrates favorable functional characteristics that make it suitable to be used in bioplastic production. These properties preserve food quality, prolong shelf life, and confer antimicrobial activity. It also has the potential to be used as a packaging material, especially considering the increasing demand for sustainable and biodegradable alternatives to plastics because of their detrimental impact on environmental health. This review primarily focuses on different extraction techniques used for linseed mucilage, its mechanism of action in terms of health benefits, and potential applications in food packaging.