Author(s):
Silva, Francisca Crislândia Oliveira ; Araújo, Maria Isabela Ferreira de ; Silva, Soraia P. ; Coelho, Elisabete ; Santos, Aline Teixeira dos ; Gonzalez, Abigail ; Salvador, Andreia Filipa Ferreira ; Cahú, Thiago Barbosa ; Vieira, Angélica Thomaz ; Souza, Marthyna Pessoa de ; Coimbra, Manuel A. ; Teixeira, J. A. ; Nobre, Clarisse ; Soares, Paulo Antônio Galindo ; Correia, Maria Tereza dos Santos
Date: 2025
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/96022
Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Project/scholarship:
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F04469%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP%2F50006%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F50006%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/POR_NORTE/2021.06268.BD/PT;
Subject(s): Arabinogalactan; Chemical structure; Microbiota; Prebiotic
Description
Available online 14 May 2025
This study aims to structurally characterize a polysaccharide extracted from Cenostigma nordestinum gum (AGCn) and evaluate its prebiotic potential in human gut microbiota. AGCn, obtained by dissolution in water and precipitation in 70 % ethanol, was primarily composed of carbohydrates (93.61 %), with a low protein content (1.70 %) and some phenolic compounds (9.16 % Gallic Acid Equivalents). Its molecular weight was 6.19 × 104 g/mol, with a dispersity of 1.33. The main monosaccharides identified were arabinose (38 mol%) and galactose (31 mol%). Methylation analysis and 2D NMR spectra showed that the gum exuded from C. nordestinum is a branched arabinogalactan composed of 6)--Galp-(1, 3,6)--Galp-(1, and 3,4,6)--Galp-(1 residues, containing chains of 3)--Araf-(1 and 5)--Araf-(1, with -Araf-(1 and -Rhap-(1 as terminal residues. The identification of 4)--GalpA-(1 showed also the presence of a pectic polysaccharide. AGCn was metabolized by Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus casei probiotic bacteria. AGCn in vitro fermentation increased the ratio of Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides in the microbiota, decreased the abundance of bacteria associated with intestinal disease, and produced short-chain fatty acids. Thus, AGCn is an arabinogalactan with prebiotic potential as a gut microbiota modulator, offering significant value for future food and biotechnological applications.
The authors express their gratitude to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia de Pernambuco (FACEPE) (Process: 0546-2.08/20) for the research grants and financial support. This work was supported by the Federal University of Pernambuco and partly funded by the CNPq (Process: 400585/2022-7). It was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469 unit, by LABBELS – Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems, LA/P/0029/2020 and by LAQV/REQUIMTE unit [LA/P/0008/2020 DOI 10.54499/LA/P/0008/2020, UIDP/50006/2020 DOI 10.54499/UIDP/50006/2020 and UIDB/50006/2020 DOI 10.54499/UIDB/50006/2020] through national funds and ERDF, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. Abigail González and E. Coelho acknowledge the FCT for the PhD Grant 2021.06268.BD, and for the Assistant Research Contract (2023.08855.CEECIND), respectively.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion