Dietary supplementation of prebiotics in whey based functional drink

Abstract

In the current exploration, fructooligosaccharides (FOS) were used as a prebiotic in whey based functional drinks to address various lifestyle related disorders. Initially, whey was subjected to physicochemical analysis, minerals assay and amino acid profiling. It comprised of total solids, lactose, ash, crude protein and fat as 6.49±0.31, 5.26±0.26, 0.56±0.02, 0.81±0.03 and 0.25±0.01%, respectively. The results regarding mineral analysis indicated that whey contains appreciable amount of potassium, sodium and calcium. Furthermore, amino acid profile elucidated it a balance source of essential and non-essential amino acids. Amongst essential amino acids, highest value was noticed for leucine 97.25±4.68 followed by lysine and threonine 83.98±2.46 & 48.89±2.84 mg/g protein. Contrarily, in case of non-essential amino acids maximum concentration was recorded for glutamic acid 151.30±7.61 mg/g protein. For drink formulation, five treatments were prepared i.e. control (T 0 ), whey based drink (T 1 ) and fructooligosaccharides supplemented whey drinks @ 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% referred as T 2 , T 3 and T 4 , respectively. The formulated drinks were evaluated for nutritional quality with special reference to amino acids, viscosity and total plate count along with sensory response during two month storage. The functional drinks showed momentous impact on total solids and viscosity whilst, pH, acidity, crude protein, fat, lactose and total plate count affected non-significantly. Conversely, during storage these traits differed substantially (p<0.05) except for ash content. The results related to hedonic evaluation elaborated that amongst functional drinks, T 4 (1.5% FOS) attained the highest scores for sensory traits. Two months Storage caused a progressive decline in the hedonic response of therapeutic drinks however, remain acceptable whithin 30 days. Considering the results of physicochemical assays with special reference to FOS and sensory profiling, one best treatment (T 4 ) was selected from the FOS supplemented drinks for bioevaluation purpose along with whey based drink (T 1 ) and control (T 0 ). The bioefficacy study was conducted in Sprague Dawley rats by running two consecutive trials for the validity of results. In this connection, three studies were planned; study I (normal rats), study II (hypercholesterolemic rats) and study III (hyperglycemic rats). Feed intake and body weight were affected significantly as a function of treatments and study weeks. The provision of FOS supplemented whey based functional drink caused a significant reduction in serum cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides nonetheless, a perceptible increase was recorded for HDL. The maximum decline in cholesterol was noticed in T 4 group as 10.87 & 11.96% (study II) and 6.96 & 7.66% (study III) followed by T 1 as compared to control (T 0 ) in both trials. Likewise, a pronounced decrease (p<0.05) in LDL was estimated in T 4 group by 14.69 & 16.13% and 7.40 & 8.13% during study II and III (trial 1 & 2), correspondingly. As far as hypoglycemic perspectives are concerned, a significant reduction (p<0.05) in serum glucose was observed for study II (6.97& 7.73%) and study III (9.76 & 10.38%) in T 1 and T 4 groups, respectively. Likewise declining tendency was observed in the subsequent trial too. Nevertheless, a momentous incline (p<0.05) in serum insulin was reported in T 4 group during study III. The values regarding liver & kidney functioning and blood biochemical parameters were also within acceptable range. For the assessment of bifidogenic potential, cecal and fecal pH, microbial assay and quantification of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were carried out. A substantial increase in bifidobacteria and SCFAs with special reference to acetate, propionate and butyrate was observed in rats relied on T 4 during the entire experiment. From the instant research, it is concluded that fructooligosaccharides based whey drink has potential to improve the gut health and to tackle the threats of hypercholesterolemia & hyperglycemia thus should be promoted in the target population.