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Polysaccharide and phlorotannin-enriched extracts of the brown seaweed Ecklonia radiata influence human gut microbiota and fermentation in vitro

  • 22ND INTERNATIONAL SEAWEED SYMPOSIUM, COPENHAGEN
  • Published:
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Abstract

This study aimed to understand the prebiotic potential and contribution of four extract fractions from the brown seaweed Ecklonia radiata. Four seaweed fractions were tested for their digestibility and prebiotic effects using an in vitro anaerobic fermentation system containing human faecal inocula. After 24 h fermentation, three seaweed fractions, except the phlorotannin-enriched fraction (PF), significantly increased (P < 0.05) total short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production (68.9–97.3 μmol mL−1) compared to the negative controls comprising either of a blank (36.3 μmol mL−1) or cellulose (39.7 μmol mL−1). The low molecular weight (MW) polysaccharide-enriched fraction (LPF) stimulated the growth of beneficial bacteria including Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Clostridium coccoides. The high MW polysaccharide-enriched fraction (HPF) showed the greatest potential for improving gut health as this fraction was not digestible by enzymes present in the small intestine, and induced significantly higher butyric acid production (8.2 μmol mL−1) than the positive control, inulin (2.3 μmol mL−1). These findings further demonstrate that E. radiata-derived polysaccharides have the potential to be used as dietary supplements with gut health benefits, worthy of further in vivo studies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding support from the Premier’s Research and Industry Fund of the South Australian Government, Qingdao Gather Great Ocean Seaweed Industry Co., Ltd., the Australian Research Council (Project ID: LP150100225), and Flinders University as well as the technical support from CSIRO Health and Biosecurity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia

    Suvimol Charoensiddhi, Christopher M. M. Franco & Wei Zhang

  2. Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia

    Suvimol Charoensiddhi, Christopher M. M. Franco & Wei Zhang

  3. CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Kintore Avenue, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia

    Michael A. Conlon & Michelle S. Vuaran

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  1. Suvimol Charoensiddhi
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Correspondence to Wei Zhang.

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Charoensiddhi, S., Conlon, M.A., Vuaran, M.S. et al. Polysaccharide and phlorotannin-enriched extracts of the brown seaweed Ecklonia radiata influence human gut microbiota and fermentation in vitro. J Appl Phycol 29, 2407–2416 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1146-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1146-y

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