Mexican study suggests potential prebiotic activity of mango peel

22-Apr-2019 - Last updated on 22-Apr-2019 at 16:22 GMT

Mango peel may selectively boost the growth of beneficial bacteria, and open up opportunities to use the waste material as a prebiotic ingredient, suggests a new study from Mexico.

The indigestible fraction of mango peel may favor the growth of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, and may result in the production of beneficial short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), according to findings published in Food Research International.

“The production of SCFA are not always related to the growth of a particular genus but can also influence the abundance of other bacterial species with specific health properties through cross-feeding or other mechanisms,” wrote researchers from Tecnológico Nacional de México/Instituto Tecnológico de Tepic, working with scientists from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

“The indigestible fraction of MP can potentially be used as a prebiotic ingredient.”

Prebiotics are defined as: “A substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit” (ISAPP, published in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 2017, Vol. 14, pp. 491-502).

Study details

The researchers obtained waste mango peel from MexiFrutas, a fruit processing company in Mexico, and found that the indigestible fraction was about 60% in the mango peels, and this included dietary soluble and insoluble fiber, polyphenols, and resistant protein. The dietary fiber content was 40% of the peel.

Using a lab model of the intestines (TIM-2) containing human fecal microbiota, the researchers found that, after 72 hours of fermentation in the system, the relative abundance was mainly distributed over the genera Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Dorea, and Lactococcus.

Shirt chain fatty acids (SCFA) were produced with a molar ratio of 56:19:24 for acetic, propionic and butyric acids, respectively.

“Mango peel has a high [indigestible fraction] that can be fermented, it showed a production of SCFA similar to SIEM [standard ileal effluent medium] Control and other dietary fiber material such as cassava by-product,” wrote the researchers.

Source: Food Research International
Volume 118, Pages 89-95, doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.12.024
“Prebiotic effect of predigested mango peel on gut microbiota assessed in a dynamic in vitro model of the human colon (TIM-2)”
Authors: S.G. Sáyago-Ayerdi et al.