Fermenting Acerola (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) and Guava (Psidium guayaba L.) Fruit Processing Co-Products with Probiotic Lactobacilli to Produce Novel Potentially Synbiotic Circular Ingredients

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of acerola and guava fruit processing co-products fermented with probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-05 and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei L-10 on the abundance of different intestinal bacterial groups and microbial metabolic activity during 48 h of in vitro fecal fermentation. Digested fermented fruit co-products increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacterial groups while overall decreasing or maintaining the relative abundance of non-beneficial bacterial groups, suggesting selective stimulatory effects on beneficial bacterial intestinal populations. The fermented co-products stimulated microbial metabolic activity due to decreased pH, sugar consumption, short-chain fatty acid production, phenolic compound and metabolic profile alteration, and high antioxidant capacity during fecal fermentation. Acerola and guava co-products have high nutritional value and bioactive compounds whose fermentation with probiotics improves their potential functionalities. The results show that fermented fruit co-products could induce beneficial changes in the relative abundance of several bacterial groups as well as in the metabolic activity of the human intestinal microbiota. These results highlight their potential as novel and circular candidates for use as synbiotic ingredients.