PDF《molecules》

Molecules 2012, 17, 1635-1651;

doi:10.

3390/molecules17021635 molecules ISSN 1420-3049 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules Article Prebiotic Activity of Polysaccharides Extracted from Gigantochloa Levis (Buluh beting) Shoots Aida Firdaus Muhammad Nurul Azmi 1,2 , Shuhaimi Mustafa 3, *, Dzulkifly Md. Hashim 3,4 and Yazid Abdul Manap

4 1 Department of Microbiology, Faculty Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia,

43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

2 Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA,

40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

3 Halal Products Research Institute, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Putra Infoport,

43400 Serdang Selangor, Malaysia

4 Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia,

43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed;

E-Mail: shuhaimi@biotech.upm.edu.my. Received:

11 October 2011;

in revised form:

28 December

2011 / Accepted:

13 January

2012 / Published:

7 February

2012 Abstract: Bamboo shoot crude polysaccharides (BSCP) extracted from the shoots of Gigantochloa levis gave about 3.27 ± 0.18% on dry basis and a very minute percentage of protein (0.02 ± 0.01%). The molecular weight of BSCP estimated by gel chromatography was found to be around 7.49 *

103 Da, while the molecular weights of purified fractions (F1 to F5) were around 1550.96, 1471.63, 1685.78, 1691.61 and 1551.67 Da, respectively. The FTIR spectrum of BSCP revealed the possibility that the extract contains?β-glucan, which can be considered a valuable compound for the medical and food industries. These relate to the resistance of BSCP towards artificial human gastric juice which is more than 99%. Prebiotic activity tested using BSCP as a carbon source showed significant increase in the growth of B. animalis ATCC 1053, B. longum BB

536 and L. acidophilus ATCC

4356 as compared to the use of FOS. Survivality of S. choleraesuis JCM

6977 was found to be slower in both BSCP and FOS. Study conducted reflects a good sign for the BSCP to be exploited as a promising prebiotic. Keywords: polysaccharides;

FOS;

prebiotics;

probiotics;

optical density OPEN ACCESS Molecules 2012,

17 1636 1. Introduction Bamboo belongs to the Gramineae Bambusoideae and is widely distributed in China, Japan and other South-East Asian countries. It is a fast growing forestry plant and be regarded as a multipurpose plant as it was used widely in construction materials, furniture, papers, chopsticks, as well as a food source [1]. Panee [2] quoted a brief description by Geil over a century ago in his book A Yankee on the Yangtze , that reflects the usefulness of bamboo and the close relationship between bamboo and the daily life of Chinese people;

A man can sit in a bamboo house under a bamboo roof, on a bamboo chair at a bamboo table, with a bamboo hat on his head and bamboo sandals on his feet. He can at the same time hold in one hand a bamboo bowl, in the other hand bamboo chopsticks and eat bamboo sprouts. When through with his meal, which has been cooked over a bamboo fire, the table may be washed with a bamboo cloth, and he can fan himself with a bamboo suspension bridge, drink water from a bamboo ladle, and scrape himself with a bamboo scraper (handkerchief) . Interestingly, no medical aspects are stressed in the description, even though bamboo has long been used in traditional Chinese and Asian medicine, especially in treating cold, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular disease as well as cancer. Nowadays, there is an increasing trend of consumer awareness towards the demand for functional foods, which are claimed to enhance the health of the consumer. Apart from other food ingredients, prebiotics are among those which have atttracted much attention recently [3]. The world demand for prebiotics is estimated to be around 167,700 tons and to be worth