Interaction of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bifidobacterium with starch-lipid complex and effects on structure and...

The synbiotic combination of resistant starch (RS) and probiotics in functional foods demonstrates profound health-improving effects. The interactions between RS and probiotics are crucial for realizing their synergistic health benefits. Starch-lipid complex, a new type of RS (RS5), has been reported a significant role in health improvement. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and Bifidobacterium are well known probiotic bacteria, the interactions between RS5 with them have never been reported. This study investigated the proliferation of bacteria and structural order degree of RS5 during fermentation with three LAB strains (Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus johnsonii, Limosilactobacillus reuteri) and one Bifidobacterium strain (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12). Metabolites production and digestibility of RS5 following fermentation were also assessed, with an RS type 2 from high-amylose maize starch as a comparison. Our results indicated that RS5 enhanced the proliferation of all four probiotic bacteria throughout the fermentation period. Following 24 h fermentation with four probiotic bacteria, RS5 exhibited greater long-range molecular order and short-range molecular order than RS2, which contributed to higher RS content in RS5 after fermentation. Higher contents of lactate, acetate, and butyrate and higher amylase activity were observed in RS5 compared to RS2 after fermentation. Additionally, RS5 fermented by Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 showed higher long-range molecular order and short-range molecular order compared to RS5 fermented by three LAB strains. This research provides valuable insights into the utilization of RS5 as a synbiotic component and contributes to the enhancement of synergistic health benefits of RS and probiotics.