Prebiotic effect and functional properties of dietary fiber extracted from Ziziphus mauritiana seeds by alkali-hydrogen peroxide method

This study aimed to extract dietary fiber from the Ziziphus mauritiana seeds by alkaline-hydrogen peroxide extraction method and evaluate its prebiotic and functional properties. For this purpose, seeds were first defatted. Then, its dietary fiber was extracted using alkaline hydrogen peroxide treatment. Prebiotic effect (at concentrations of 1 and 5%) in sugar-free culture medium on Lactobacillus acidophilus was studied for 72 hours. The technological and functional properties of the extracted dietary fibers including DPPH test, cholesterol-binding capacity, glucose adsorption capacity, oil binding capacity and water adsorption capacity were measured. Z. mauritiana seed dietary fiber had water adsorption, oil binding capacity, glucose adsorption capacity, and cholesterol binding capacity equal to 0.51 ml/g, 2.50 g/g, 37.60 mmol/L, and 14.52 mg/g, respectively. The results of the prebiotic evaluation showed that the sample containing 1% Z. mauritiana seed dietary fiber had the lowest pH with pH 5.69 at 48 h (p<0.05). Also, the trend of pH decrease was variable during the time of the test (p<0.05). The results of Lactobacillus acidophilus count indicated that the culture containing 1% Z. mauritiana seed dietary fiber at 48th hour with 4.7 Log CFU/ml had the highest count. Besides, the trend of bacterial multiplication was variable concerning its concentration and over time (p<0.05). Besides, due to its beneficial properties, Z. mauritiana seed dietary fiber can be used as an available and inexpensive source of dietary fiber in the food and pharmaceutical industries.