Prebiotic potential of enzymatically modified lingonberry polyphenols

In the present study, enzymatic glycosylation of polyphenolic compounds obtained from fruits of Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. (lingonberries) was performed. The individual components were identified by HPTLC and HPLC analysis. Fructosyltransferase – levansucrase L17 (FTF) was used for glycosylation purposes. To investigate the prebiotic potential of the glycosylated polyphenols, the metabolic profile of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum L10 was monitored in the presence of lyophilized lingonberry extract at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 0.5%. An increase in lactate and acetate concentration was observed among the organic acids studied. The lactate values increased from 18% to 33% at lyophilizate concentrations of 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. The same trend was observed for acetate, from 13% to 18%. Enzymatically modified polyphenols are very promising as prebiotics due to their ability to selectively modulate the gut microbiota and increase short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production, which is associated with improved human intestinal and systemic health.