Oat bran beta-gluco- and xylo-oligosaccharides as fermentative substrates for lactic acid bacteria

The influence of oat bran oligosaccharides on carbohydrate utilization and fermentation end-products was studied with reference to three different lac tic acid bacteria (LAB: Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lacrobacillus plantarum an d Lactococcus lactis). The main results were that all three LAB utilized oa t beta-gluco-oligosaccharides, while only L. plantarum utilized xylo-oligos accharides. The main products of LAB metabolism were lactic acid, acetic ac id, formic acid and ethanol. The results indicated that oat beta-gluco-olig osaccharides and xylo-oligosaccharides induce LAB to form the end-products of a typical mixed-acid fermentation. The formation of mixed-acid productio n from xylo-oligosaccharides was mainly due to the starvation of cells. Thi s study indicates that oat bran oligosaccharides affect both qualitatively and quantitatively the fermentation end-products of LAB grown on these subs trates. This should be taken into account when selecting strains for new fe rmented cereal based food products. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V; All righ ts reserved.