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Published on: August 23, 2019
Characterization of polysaccharide from Pleurotus eryngii during simulated gastrointestinal digestion and
Gaoxing Ma1, Qian Xu1, Hengjun Du2
1College of Food Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Grain Circulation and Safety, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Pleurotus eryngii is a valuable new edible mushroom variety cultivated on a large scale in China. The polysaccharides found in this mushroom are strong bioactive. This study used simulated digestion and fermentation model to study the digestion and fermentation characteristics of Pleurotus eryngii polysaccharide (PEP) and its effect on gut microbiota. The results showed that the molecular weight of PEP remained unchanged after simulated digestion, and the overall structure of PEP was not destroyed, indicating that PEP was not decomposed during digestion. However, during fermentation, PEP was degraded and utilized by intestinal flora to produce a variety of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which reduced the pH value in fecal cultures. Meanwhile, PEP regulated the composition of intestinal flora, and the relative abundance of Firmicutes increased significantly. These suggests that PEP can be used as a functional food to promote intestinal health and prevent disease.
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