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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2008, p. 4264-4270, Vol. 74, No. 14
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00739-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Potential Prebiotic Properties of Almond (Amygdalus communis L.) Seeds

The Model Gut Platform, Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UA, United Kingdom,¹ Commensal and Microflora Programme, Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UA, United Kingdom,² Department of Pharmacobiology, University of Messina, Viale Annunziata, 98100 Messina, Italy³

Received 28 March 2008/ Accepted 15 May 2008

Almonds are known to have a number of nutritional benefits, including cholesterol-lowering effects and protection against diabetes. They are also a good source of minerals and vitamin E, associated with promoting health and reducing the risk for chronic disease. For this study we investigated the potential prebiotic effect of almond seeds in vitro by using mixed fecal bacterial cultures. Two almond products, finely ground almonds (FG) and defatted finely ground almonds (DG), were subjected to a combined model of the gastrointestinal tract which included in vitro gastric and duodenal digestion, and the resulting fractions were subsequently used as substrates for the colonic model to assess their influence on the composition and metabolic activity of gut bacteria populations. FG significantly increased the populations of bifidobacteria and Eubacterium rectale, resulting in a higher prebiotic index (4.43) than was found for the commercial prebiotic fructooligosaccharides (4.08) at 24 h of incubation. No significant differences in the proportions of gut bacteria groups were detected in response to DG. The increase in the numbers of Eubacterium rectale during fermentation of FG correlated with increased butyrate production. In conclusion, we have shown that the addition of FG altered the composition of gut bacteria by stimulating the growth of bifidobacteria and Eubacterium rectale.

Published ahead of print on 23 May 2008.