Title : A novel functional herbal tea containing probiotic Bacillus coagulans GanedenBC30: An in vitro study using the simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (SHIME)
Abstract:
Bacillus coagulans is a spore-forming, Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic, nonpathogenic, lactic acid-producing bacterium with well-known probiotic properties. Currently, various strains of B. coagulans are used as probiotics with the overall potential claim of improving and/or preserving the ecological balance within the human intestinal microbiota, together with other health promoting effects. Nowadays, probiotics and functional foods are, probably, the binomial with the greatest potential. Fortification of the traditional beverages to make them suitable as carriers for probiotics is the most reliable way for functionalization. This study aimed at investigating the potential of a novel functional herbal tea to act as the carrier for the probiotic Bacillus coagulans GanedenBC30. Preliminarily, the optimal survival conditions of probiotic cells to infusion temperatures and GIT transit were assessed. Subsequently, the capability of B. coagulans GanedenBC30 to colonize mucus layers and persist in colon tracts were investigated using the SHIME model. Spores markedly survived to infusion treatments and the simulation of the gastrointestinal transit only slightly affected the survival, which was 94.8 ± 2.8%. An in-depth investigation using the Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME) which incorporated mucin-covered microcosms was performed. Q-PCR with targeted primers demonstrated that the probiotic quickly colonized mucosal compartments and persisted after 4 days of wash out. As estimated by plate count combined with 16S rRNA sequencing, B. coagulans GanedenBC30 showed almost the same behavior in luminal compartments both during herbal tea intake and wash out. By summing the luminal and mucosal values and referring to whole volume of colon bioreactors, the content of viable cells of B. coagulans GanedenBC30 was largely above the probiotic threshold.
