Short chain fatty acid production from mycoprotein and mycoprotein fibre in an in vitro fermentation model

Harris, H. C., Edwards, C. A. and Morrison, D. J. (2019) Short chain fatty acid production from mycoprotein and mycoprotein fibre in an in vitro fermentation model. Nutrients, 11(4), 800. (doi: 10.3390/nu11040800)

Abstract

Dietary mycoprotein (marketed as QuornTM) has many health benefits, including reductions in energy intake. The majority of studies evaluating mycoprotein focus on the protein content and very few consider the fibre content. Fibre consumption is also associated with decreased energy intake, which is partly attributed to short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from fibre fermentation by colonic bacteria. To study the SCFA-producing capability of mycoprotein, in vitro batch fermentations were conducted, and SCFA production compared with that from extracted mycoprotein fibre, oligofructose (OF), rhamnose, and laminarin. Mycoprotein and mycoprotein fibre were both fermentable, resulting in a total SCFA production of 24.9 (1.7) and 61.2 (15.7) mmol/L, respectively. OF led to a significantly higher proportion of acetate compared to all other substrates tested (92.6 (2.8)%, p < 0.01). Rhamnose generated the highest proportion of propionate (45.3 (2.0)%, p < 0.01), although mycoprotein and mycoprotein fibre yielded a higher proportion of propionate compared with OF and laminarin. Butyrate proportion was the highest with laminarin (28.0 (10.0)although mycoprotein fibre led to a significantly higher proportion than OF (p < 0.01). Mycoprotein is a valuable source of dietary protein, but its fibre content is also of interest. Further evaluation of the potential roles of the fibre content of mycoprotein is required.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was funded by a BBSRC DRINC Doctoral Training Grant BB/H532091/1.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Morrison, Professor Douglas and Edwards, Professor Christine and Harris, Hannah
• Authors: Harris, H. C., Edwards, C. A., and Morrison, D. J.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing; College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Nutrients
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2072-6643
• ISSN (Online): 2072-6643
• Published Online: 08 April 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Nutrients 11(4): 800
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License