TITLE:
Analyzing the Prebiotic Potential of Glucosamine for Targeting the Gut Microbiome Health
AUTHORS:
Pranav Pancham, Divya Jindal, Archita Gupta, Deepshikha Yadav, Shriya Agarwal, Saurabh Jha, Manisha Singh
KEYWORDS:
Microbiome, Enteric Nervous System (ENS), Prebiotic Index, Hexosamine Biosynthetic Pathway (HBP), Vagal Afferents, Phosphotransferase System
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.14 No.2,
February
27,
2023
ABSTRACT: Recognizing the composition and modulation of the microbiome, a viable
therapeutic tool for multi-targeted therapy is a new strategy that has recently
been explored. Glucosamine (GS) is being studied for its prebiotic potential in
addition to being the most abundant and naturally occurring amino monosaccharide.
The current study focuses on glucosamine’s
prebiotic potential by assessing the stability of various GS concentrations (1% - 5%) in
the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and its ability to be fermented by the gut
microbiota. The results showed that GS stimulated the most growth in L.
acidophilus even after a longer incubation
time than B. bifidum and L. acidophilus growth was
concentration-dependent, with maximum growth at 3% with a simultaneous decrease
in pH (5.6 - 1.7). The decrease in GS concentration with time also represented
the growth of bacterial species, demonstrating the species’ utilization of GS.
Furthermore, at 3%, GS also represented the prebiotic index of 1.9. In
addition, the concentration of GS in various simulated GIT fluids was estimated
in both fast and fed conditions to examine GS stability at various levels in
the gut. The results showed that GS remained unaffected and non-digestible in
all of the simulated GIT fluids (salivary, gastric, intestinal, and colonic),
but there was a slight decrease in GS concentration (2.8%) in the fasted state
of gastric fluid due to low pH levels (1.6). As a result, the findings are
conclusive and suggest that GS possesses prebiotic properties.