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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Applying Advanced In Vitro Culturing Technology to Study the Human Gut Microbiota
Published on: February 15, 2019
In vitro fermentation of alginate and its derivatives by human gut microbiota
Miaomiao Li1, Guangsheng Li1, Qingsen Shang1
1Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Glycoscience and Glycotechnology, Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs of Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, and Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266003, China.
Abstract:
Alginate (Alg) has a long history as a food ingredient in East Asia. However, the human gut microbes responsible for the degradation of alginate and its derivatives have not been fully understood yet. Here, we report that alginate and the low molecular polymer derivatives of mannuronic acid oligosaccharides (MO) and guluronic acid oligosaccharides (GO) can be completely degraded and utilized at various rates by fecal microbiota obtained from six Chinese individuals. However, the derivative of propylene glycol alginate sodium sulfate (PSS) was not hydrolyzed. The bacteria having a pronounced ability to degrade Alg, MO and GO were isolated from human fecal samples and were identified as Bacteroides ovatus, Bacteroides xylanisolvens, and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. Alg, MO and GO can increase the production level of short chain fatty acids (SCFA), but GO generates the highest level of SCFA. Our data suggest that alginate and its derivatives could be degraded by specific bacteria in the human gut, providing the basis for the impacts of alginate and its derivates as special food additives on human health.
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