Adhesion capacity is considered one of the selection criteria for probiotic strains. The purpose of this study was to determine the adhesion properties of two candidate probiotics, Lactobacillus plantarum Dad-13 and Lactobacillus plantarum Mut-7. The evaluation included the hydrophobicity of the cell surface using microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons (MATH), autoaggregation, and the adhesion of L. plantarum Dad-13 and L. plantarum Mut-7 to the intestinal mucosa of Sprague Dawley rat, followed by genomic analysis of the two L. plantarum strains. L. plantarum Dad-13 and L. plantarum Mut-7 showed a high surface hydrophobicity (78.9% and 83.5%) and medium autoaggregation ability (40.9% and 57.5%, respectively). The exposure of both isolates to the surface of the rat intestine increased the total number of lactic acid bacteria on the colon compartment, from 2.9 log CFU/cm² to 4.4 log CFU/cm² in L. plantarum Dad-13 treatment and to 3.86 log CFU/cm² in L. plantarum Mut-7 treatment. The results indicate the ability of two L. plantarum to attach to the surface of the rat intestine. The number of indigenous E. coli in the colon also decreased when the compartment was exposed to L. plantarum Dad-13 and Mut-7, from 2.9 log CFU/cm² to 1 log CFU/cm². Genomic analysis revealed that both strains have genes related to adhesion properties that could play an important role in increasing the adherence of probiotics to the intestinal mucosa such as gene encoding fibronectin-binding protein, chaperonin heat shock protein 33 (Hsp33), and genes related to the capsule and cell wall biosynthesis. Based on these findings, we believe that L. plantarum Dad-13 and L. plantarum Mut-7 have adhesion properties to the intestinal mucosa in the rat intestine model system. The present research will be essential to elucidate the molecular mechanism associated with adhesion in our two probiotic strains.

Probiotic coffee is an alternative to processed coffee that is preferred and can improve the balance of intestinal microflora so that it has a positive impact on health. Cell viability of probiotics may decrease during storage. Factors that can affect viability during storage are storage temperature, packaging, oxygen, and water activity. This study is aimed at evaluating the viability, storage stability, and shelf life of the probiotic instant coffee Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum Dad-13 in vacuum and nonvacuum aluminium foil packaging and different storage temperatures. This study used a complete randomised design with three replicates of treatments. They were packaged using 90μm thick aluminium foil in a vacuum and nonvacuum and stored at 4C and 30C for 50 days and 37C for 15 days. Based on the literature, a temperature of 4C can maintain the viability of probiotics for more than one month, the temperature commonly used to store dry products is room temperature (30C), so longer storage (50 days) is tried. Meanwhile, to accelerate the prediction of quality degradation, extreme temperatures were used based on the literature that the viability of probiotics decreased drastically after being stored at 37C for 7 days, then tried for longer storage (15 days). The evaluation of product was carried by sensory testing by comparing commercial instant coffee. The product has been tested for cell viability, water activity, and shelf life. The result showed that the colour attribute was significantly different for all formulations. The bitterness of probiotic instant coffee differed significantly from other formulations. The commercial instant coffee was preferred by panellist in terms of colour and bitterness. The aroma, sweetness, and overall attributes of all formulations were not significantly different. The cell viability in vacuum was higher than nonvacuum treatment, and it was higher in 4C. However, cell viability for all treatments and during storage was still above 10⁷ log CFU/g. Water activity in probiotic instant coffee with vacuum packaging is lower than in nonvacuum and stored at 4C lower than in other temperatures. However, all treatments were still below 0.60. The shelf life of products reaches two years when they are stored in vacuum packaging at 4C while a temperature of 30C reaches 3 months. So, the panellists accepted probiotic instant coffee, vacuum packaging, and low temperature could maintain viability, stability, and longer shelf life.

Malnutrition, which consists of undernutrition and overnutrition, is associated with gut microbiota composition, diet, and sociodemographic factors. Undernutrition is a nutrient deficiency that that should be identified to prevent other diseases. In this study, we evaluate the gut microbiota composition in undernourished children in association with diet and sociodemographic factors. We observed normal children (n= 20) and undernourished children (n= 20) for ten days in Lombok and Yogyakarta. Diet, sociodemographic factors, and medical records were recorded using food records, screening forms, and standard household questionnaires. Gut microbiota analysis was performed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing targeting the V3–V4 region. The result showed that the undernourished group had lower energy intake. In addition, the undernourished group had lower quality of medical records, parent knowledge, education, and exclusive breastfeeding. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia were significantly different between normal and undernourished children. Based on LefSe, we determined that Akkermansia is a biomarker for undernourished children. In conclusion, diet and sociodemographic factors affect the gut microbiota composition of undernourished children.

Rimba Bunga Pertiwi, Yosinta Christie Setiabudi, Yunika Mayangsari, Dian Anggraini Suroto, and Endang Sutriswati Rahayu. Prev Nutr Food Sci 2024;29:270-8. https://doi.org/10.3746/pnf.2024.29.3.270

Suroto DA, Hasan PN, Rahayu ES. 2021. Genomic insight of two indigenous probiotics Lactobacillus plantarum Dad-13 and Lactobacillus plantarum Mut-7 from different origins of Indonesian fermented foods. Biodiversitas 22: 5491-5500. Lactobacillus plantarum Dad-13 and Lactobacillus plantarum Mut-7 are probiotics isolated from traditional fermented foods. In the present study two strains of L. plantarum were sequenced using Illumina NovaSeq PE150 platform and in silico analysis was performed using RAST webserver to unravel the functional metabolic between two strains. The L. plantarum Dad-13 and Mut-7 genome sizes were 3.25 and 3.98 Mb with GC content of them being almost similar i.e. 44.4 and 44.3%, respectively. Two lactobacilli also had some differences in their metabolic genes, particularly in carbohydrate subsystem. L. plantarum Mut-7 had genes related to the metabolisms of plant cell wall components such as dextrin, arabinose, xylose indicated the adaptation to their environmental origins (fermented dried cassava), while those genes were not observed in L. plantarum Dad-13 which was isolated from fermented buffalo’s milk (dadih). Further analysis using BAGEL4 webserver exhibited their different potential to synthesize bacteriocins, L. plantarum Dad-13 was predicted to produce more types of bacteriocins than L. plantarum Mut-7. This investigation revealed that L. plantarum Dad-13 and L. plantarum Mut-7 have a great potential related with their properties as probiotics.