ABSTRACT
Optimization of food storage has become a central issue for food science and biotechnology, especially in the field of functional foods. The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of different storage strategies in a fermented food product (FFP) and further determine whether the regular storage (room temperature (RT) and standard packaging (SP)) could be refined. Eight experimental conditions (four different temperatures × two packaging) were simulated and changes in FFP's microbial ecology (total bacteria, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and yeasts) and physicochemical characteristics (pH and moisture content (MC)) were determined following 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. All conditions tested showed a decline in microbial content due to the effect of the temperature, 37 °C being the most detrimental condition, while -20 and 4 °C seemed to be better than RT in some parameters. Vacuum packaging (VP) only had a major effect on MC and we found that VP preserved greater MC values than SP at 3, 6, and 12 months. The correlation analysis revealed that total bacteria, LAB, and yeasts were positively associated, and also both pH and MC showed a correlation. According to our results and with the purpose to maintain the load of viable microorganisms, we observed that the best storage conditions should contemplate SP and freezing or cooling temperature during a period no longer than 3 months.
ABSTRACT
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex metabolic disease, which involves a maintained hyperglycemia due to the development of an insulin resistance process. Among multiple risk factors, host intestinal microbiota has received increasing attention in T2D etiology and progression. In the present study, we have explored the effect of long-term supplementation with a non-dairy fermented food product (FFP) in Zucker Diabetic and Fatty (ZDF) rats T2D model. The supplementation with FFP induced an improvement in glucose homeostasis according to the results obtained from fasting blood glucose levels, glucose tolerance test, and pancreatic function. Importantly, a significantly reduced intestinal glucose absorption was found in the FFP-treated rats. Supplemented animals also showed a greater survival suggesting a better health status as a result of the FFP intake. Some dissimilarities have been observed in the gut microbiota population between control and FFP-treated rats, and interestingly a tendency for better cardiometabolic markers values was appreciated in this group. However, no significant differences were observed in body weight, body composition, or food intake between groups. These findings suggest that FFP induced gut microbiota modifications in ZDF rats that improved glucose metabolism and protected from T2D development.
