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Dehydrated apple‐based snack supplemented with Agave fructans exerts

prebiotic effect regulating the production of short‐chain fatty acid in mice

Article  in  Journal of Food Processing and Preservation · May 2019

DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.14026

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Received: 21 May 2018    Revised: 28 March 2019    Accepted: 7 May 2019

DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.14026

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Dehydrated apple‐based snack supplemented with Agave

fructans exerts prebiotic effect regulating the production of
short‐chain fatty acid in mice

Silvia Marina González‐Herrera1 | Nuria E. Rocha‐Guzmán1 | Luis E. Simental‐Mendía2 |

Raúl Rodríguez‐Herrera3 | Cristóbal Noé Aguilar3 | Olga Miriam Rutiaga-Quiñones1 |
Mercedes G. López4 | Claudia I. Gamboa‐Gómez2

1
Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto/
Tecnológico de Durango, Departamento Abstract
de Ingenierías Química y Bioquímica. Blvd. The effect of dehydrated apple‐based snack supplemented with Agave fructans on
Felipe Pescador 1830 ote. Colonia Nueva
Vizcaya., Durango, Dgo., Mexico short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA) production in mice was evaluated. Animals were ran‐
2
Unidad de Investigación Biomédica del domly divided into three groups (n = 8): Control group (CG), oligofructose (OG), and
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social,
Agave fructans (AG). After 24  days of treatment (stage 1), AG and OG showed el‐
Durango, Dgo., Mexico
3
Food Research Department, School of
evated levels of acetate (10 µmol/g for both treatments), propionate (2.4 µmol/g for
Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de both treatments), and butyrate (1.5 and 3.2  µmol/g for OG and AG, respectively)
Coahuila, Saltillo, Mexico
4
compared with the CG. After 42 days of treatment (stage 2), AG had higher concen‐
Departamento de Biotecnología y
Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y trations of acetate (20.8 µmol/g), propionate (2.1 µmol/g), and butyrate (5.5 µmol/g);
de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Unidad whereas, OG only exhibited higher levels of acetate (16.8 µmol/g) and butyrate
Irapuato, Apartado Postal 629, C.P. 36821,
Irapuato, Gto., Mexico (5.6 µmol/g) in comparison with the controls. Dehydrated apple‐based snack supple‐
mented with Agave fructans exhibits a prebiotic effect increasing SCFA production
Correspondence
Mercedes G. López, Departamento de in mice.
Biotecnología y Bioquímica, Centro de Practical applications
Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del
IPN, Campus Guanajuato, Apartado Postal Dehydrated fruit‐based snacks are generally perceived by consumers as healthy
629, Irapuato, Gto., 36500 Mexico. products with acceptable sensory attributes. They have a prolonged shelf life and
Email: mercedes.lopez@cinvestav.mx
Claudia I. Gamboa‐Gómez, Unidad de may be consumed directly or cut into small parts for use in confectionery and bakery.
Investigación Biomédica del Instituto In addition, the products derived from fruits plus prebiotics can enhance the ben‐
Mexicano del Seguro Social, Delegación
Durango. 34067, Durango, Mexico. eficial effect on health and increase their consumption. This study opens up some
Email: clau140382@hotmail.com commercial potential and technical challenges of using prebiotic‐based supplements.
Funding information
Strengthening and Development of
Scientific and Technological Infrastructure
Program, Grant/Award Number: 253333
and 224651; Mexican National Council of
Science and Technology (CONACYT), Grant/
Award Number: 55354

1 |  I NTRO D U C TI O N
Currently, western countries are characterized by changes in life‐
style associated to an increase on the consumption of fast food and
unhealthy snacks, with a consequent increase in the incidence of
metabolic disorders. In this regard, there is a growing interest for
functional foods which provides an additional benefit to health
(Ozen, Pons, & Tur, 2012). However, one important factor to be con‐
sidered for functional food to be accepted by the consumer are the
way in which it is offered (González‐Herrera et al., 2016). Dehydrated

J Food Process Preserv. 2019;00:e14026. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfpp © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.  |  1 of 8
https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.14026
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2 of 8       GONZÁLEZ‐HERRERA et al.
fruit‐based snacks are generally perceived by consumers as healthy
products with acceptable sensory attributes. In addition, it has been
reported that are good carrier for nutraceuticals such as probiotics
and prebiotics (Rêgo, Freixo, Silva, Gibbs, & Teixeira, 2013). These
latter are defined as non‐digestible carbohydrates that are selec‐
tively fermented allowing specific changes in the composition and/
or activity of the microbiota resulting in health benefits to the host
(Gibson et al., 2010). Non‐digestible carbohydrates are the main en‐
ergy and carbon source for colonic microorganisms, which have the
capacity to hydrolyze particularly polysaccharides complex leading
to production of several metabolites that influence host metabolism
(Gill et al., 2006). The most‐studied non‐digestible carbohydrate is
oligofructose, which avoids the digestive process in the upper gas‐
trointestinal tract reaching the large intestine to be fermented to
organic acids in the colon by the saccharolytic resident microbiota
(Kolida, Tuohy, & Gibson, 2002). Accordingly, oligofructose provides
energy for other bacteria, bowel epithelium, and peripheral tissues
(Conlon & Bird, 2014). Moreover, Agave fructans are reserve carbo‐
hydrates from Agave tequiliana. These are a highly branched complex
structure formed by links β (2‐1) and β (2‐6) and different ranging de‐
grees of polymerization from 3 to 30 monosaccharide units (Arrizon,
Morel, Gschaedler, & Monsan, 2010). This structure makes fructans
resistant to hydrolysis by human digestive enzymes and may be fer‐
mented only by colonic microflora producing short‐chain fatty acids
(SCFA) which are the main bacterial metabolites (Franco‐Robles &
López, 2015). SCFA are a subset of saturated fatty acids with six
or less carbon molecules (e.g., acetate, propionate, and butyrate).
These are produced by acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and homoaceto‐
genes bacterial processes (Zhang et al., 2018). Besides, SCFA may be
further re‐captured for energy recovery which might later be used
as a raw substrate for other microorganism reactions (Wang et al.,
2018).
The SCFA exhibit cellular and molecular mechanisms includ‐
ing inhibition of histone deacetylases and activation of G‐protein‐
coupled receptors, and their deficiency may be related with some
diseases such as allergies, asthma, several types of cancers, autoim‐
mune diseases, metabolic diseases, and neurological diseases (Tan
et al., 2014).
Furthermore, although it has been suggested a prebiotic po‐
tential of Agave fructans and oligofructose (Crispín‐Isidro, Lobato‐
Calleros, Espinosa‐Andrews, Alvarez‐Ramirez, & Vernon‐Carter,
2015; Gibson et al., 2010), the prebiotic impact in vivo of dehydrated
apple‐based snack supplemented with fructans from Agave tequil‐
iana on SCFA concentrations has not been investigated. Thus, the
aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Agave fruc‐
tans‐based supplement on SCFA production in C57BL/6 mice.
2 |  M ATE R I A L S A N D M E TH O DS
2.1 | Materials
Representative samples of “Red delicious” apples from Canatlán
Durango, Mexico with low commercial value (smaller than standard,
having slight mechanical damage, deformed, among others) were
used for dehydrated apple‐based snack preparation. The tested
commercial prebiotics were: Agave fructans from Agave tequilana
Weber (90% inulin and 10% glucose/fructose/sucrose content.
American Foods, Jalisco, México), citric acid, glucose, fructose, and
sucrose from Sigma Aldrich (St. Louis, MO.), and oligofructose (93%
oligofructose and 7% glucose/fructose/sucrose content. Raftilose
P95 Beneo e Orafti, Tienen Belgium) donated by MEGAFARMA S.A.
de C.V. México. This latter was used as an active control.
2.2 | Dehydrated apple‐based snack preparation
Dehydrated apple‐based supplement snack with Agave fructans
from Agave tequilana or oligofructose were performed accord‐
ing to the methodology described by González‐Herrera et al.
(2016). Briefly, samples of 220 g of apples were washed, slice, and
grounded for six minutes using a kitchen blender (“Oster” mod.
004093 NPO, México City, México). In this step, a solution of the
corresponding prebiotics (Agave fructans or oligofructose) was
added (diluted in 50 ml of a solution of citric acid, 10 g/L). Heat
treatment (75°C for 10 min) was applied. After, 200 g of each for‐
mulation were poured in 20 × 35 cm metal trays lined with cel‐
lophane paper (3 mm of thickness). Samples were allowed to cool
down at room temperature for 2 hr up to 27°C before their drying
process. Apple matrices with prebiotics were dried using a dryer
(“POLINOX,” mod. SEM‐2, México City, México) at 60°C for 5 hr
with an air velocity of 2 m/s. The final concentration of prebiotic,
moisture, thickness, and hardness were 15 g of prebiotic/100 g
per dehydrated apple‐based snack, 150–180 g/kg, 0.5 mm, and
4.0 N, respectively.
Dehydrated apple‐based snack was vacuum packed in high‐den‐
sity polyethylene bags and stored at room temperature.
2.3 | Animals and experimental design
The protocol was approved by the animal ethics committee of the
TECNM/Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, Durango, México and all
experiments on animals were performed in accordance with the ani‐
mal care and use protocol of the Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM‐062‐
ZOO‐1999, as recommended by National Institutes of Health (NIH),
2002 Guidelines.
Female C57BL/6 mice (Rismart SA de CV, México City, México),
12 weeks old, were housed in a light and temperature‐controlled
room (12–12 hr light–dark cycle; 25 ± 1°C). Mice were randomly di‐
vided into three groups of eight animals each. (1) Control group (CG):
dehydrated apple‐based snack without prebiotic (3.9 g/kg of body
weight per day). (2) Agave fructans group (AG): 3.9 g of dehydrated
apple‐based snack supplemented with Agave fructans/kg of body
weight per day, and (3) oligofructose group (OG): 3.9 g of dehydrated
apple‐based snack supplemented with oligofructose/kg of body
weight per day.
The doses used were equivalent to 1 g/day in humans, which
represent 0.2% of fiber recommended per day by the WHO
GONZÁLEZ‐HERRERA et al. |
      3 of 8

(Valcheva & Dieleman, 2016). The extrapolation of the dose from

Washing period
humans to the animal model was carried out according to the for‐

1.1 ± 0.02

0.8 ± 0.02

1.0 ± 0.02
19.5 ± 0.5
mula reported by Reagan‐Shaw, Nihal, and Ahmad (2008).
Groups were fed with a base diet (proteins 23%, lipids 4.5% [1%
saturated fat], and carbohydrates 64%) for seven weeks. Diets and
water were provided ad libitum to all groups. After one week of ac‐

0.9 ± 0.02
1.1 ± 0.01

1.0 ± 0.01
19.2 ± 0.4
Stage 2 climatization, treatments were administered during six weeks using
oral via to the corresponding groups. Body weight was measurement
weekly; food and water intake were assessed daily.

1.0 ± 0.03
1.7 ± 0.02

1.2 ± 0.01
18.5 ± 0.3
Stage 1

2.4 | Sample collection
Oligofructose group

Feces collections (24 hr) were conducted in basal condition (basal

1.6 ± 0.01

1.3 ± 0.01

1.1 ± 0.01
stage), at 24 (stage 1) and 42 days (stage 2) after treatment, as well at
Washing period Basal state

14.8 ± 0.5

8 days after the end of prebiotic intervention (washing period). Feces

were weighed and divided in two: a part was immediately placed into
a sterile assay tube for bacterial enumeration, and the other was lyo‐
philized and stored at −20°C for SCFA analysis.
1.0 ± 0.08
0.9 ± 0.02

0.8 ± 0.01
18.0 ± 0.8

2.5 | Bacterial enumeration
Sample of feces (100 mg/ml) were serially diluted 10‐fold with an‐
1.0 ± 0.02
1.1 ± 0.01

1.0 ± 0.01
17.7 ± 0.6

oxic one‐fourth strength peptone‐water. Appropriate dilutions were

Stage 2

inoculated (100 μl) into triplicate plates using selective media for

the enumeration of different bacteria. Total Coliforms (Violet Red
0.8 ± 0.04
1.5 ± 0.01

1.2 ± 0.01

Bile Agar, Becton Dickinson, Mexico), bifidobacteria (Man‐Rogosa‐

17.2 ± 0.6
Stage 1

Sharpe (MRS) broth (Difco, Detroit, MI) supplemented with 0.05%

Agave fructans group

[weight/volume (w/v) L‐cysteine], lactobacilli [Man‐Rogosa‐Sharpe

TA B L E 1   Final body weight, water, food consumption, and fecal weight of study groups

(MRS) Difco, Detroit, MI USA], Gram‐positive cocci (Azide blood agar,

1.3 ± 0.01

1.3 ± 0.01

1.0 ± 0.01

Sigma‐Aldrich, Spain). Plates were incubated anaerobic or aero‐

Washing period Basal state

14.0 ± 0.5

bically in a chamber (10% CO2) for 48–72  hr, respectively. Results

were expressed as the log of the colony‐forming unit (CFU)/g of wet
weight of fecal content.
0.8 ± 0.03
0.7 ± 0.02
0.8 ± 0.01
18.2 ± 0.4

2.6 | Sample preparation
One ml of formic acid (1%) was added to 40 mg of each feces sam‐
ple, followed by a mixing for 2 min using an Ultra‐Turrax homog‐
Note: Values are expressed as mean ± standard error (n = 7).
1.4 ± 0.03
0.9 ± 0.02

0.8 ± 0.02
17.6 ± 0.8

enizer (IKA, Lab. Equip., Staufen, Germany) to extract the SCFA. The
Stage 2

samples were centrifuged (CRM Globe, Centrificient II, Texas, US) at

14,000 × g 4°C for 10 min. The clear supernatants were collected.
1.5 ± 0.02

1.0 ± 0.02
1.1 ± 0.01

Then, 500 μl of ethyl acetate was added, and vortex mixing (1 min).
17.4 ± 0.3
Stage 1

The samples were centrifuged again at 10,000 × g for 5 min. The

extraction was repeated twice.
Control group

1.3 ± 0.01

1.5 ± 0.01

1.1 ± 0.01
Basal state

Body weight (g) 13.8 ± 0.2

2.7 | Chemical derivatization
The derivatization reaction of feces extract was performed accord‐
ing the methodology described by Han, Lin, Sequeira, and Borchers
Fecal weight (g)
Food consump‐
sumption (ml)

(2015) with few modifications. Briefly, 20 μl were mixed with 10 μl
Water con‐

of 40 mM 3‐Nitrophenylhydrazine hydrochloride (3NPH‐HCl) solu‐

tion (g)

tion and 10 μl of a mixed 37.5  mM 1‐(3‐Dimethylaminopropyl)‐3‐

ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC‐HCl– 1.5%) pyridine solution.
 
 |
4 of 8       GONZÁLEZ‐HERRERA et al.

The mixtures were reacted at 40°C for 30 min. After reaction, the
mixtures were cooled on ice for 1 min before dilution with 960 μl
of aqueous acetonitrile (10%) (50:50). Solutions were injected into
the ultra‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem
mass (UPLC‐MS/MS) instrument.
2.8 | Ultra‐performance liquid chromatography
coupled with tandem mass spectrometry analysis
Acquity UPLC system (Waters Corp., Milford) coupled with a tan‐
dem Xevo TQ‐S triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (Waters
Corp., Wexford) were used for sample analysis. The LC system
consisted of a sample manager (20°C) and a binary solvent man‐
ager. The column used to determine SCFA was an Acquity UPLC
HSS C18 SB, 100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm (Waters Corp., Wexford)
operated at 40°C. The elution profile included two solvents (LC‐
MS, both J.T. Baker): acidified water with 0.01% formic acid (sol‐
vent A) and acetonitrile with 0.01% formic acid (solvent B), flow
rate was 0.350  ml/min: initial 85% A, 0–2  min, 45% A, 2–9  min,
0% A, 9–10  min, 0% A, 10–13  min, and 85% A (linear gradient)
for column stabilization. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) data
were collected from 0 to 15 min. Negative ionization mode was
used for MS assays. Electron spray ionization (ESI) conditions were
as follows: capillary voltage 1.5 kV, 350°C of desolvation tempera‐
ture, 2V for cone, 150°C of source temperature, desolvation and
cone gas 350 and 151L/h; nebulizer gas flow 7.0 Bar, and collision
gas 0.13 ml/min. For identification and quantification, a multiple
reaction‐monitoring mode with standards (acetate acid, propionic
acid, and butyric acid from Sigma‐Aldrich, USA) was used. The
UPLC and tandem Xevo TQ‐S triple quadrupole mass spectrome‐
ter control and data were processed using MassLinx v. 4.1 (Waters
Corp.) Software.
2.9 | Statistical analysis
Data were expressed as mean values ± standard error (SE). Statistical
significance was determined by one‐way variance analysis (ANOVA)
(p < 0.05) followed by the Tukey's test. Statistical analysis was made
using the SigmaPlot software version 13.0 (Systat Software, Inc., San
Jose, CA, USA).

F I G U R E 1   Bacterial concentrations (a: Bifidobacteria, b: Lactobacilli, c: Total coliforms, d: Gram‐positive cocci) in feces of mice treated with
Agave fructans (AG), oligofructose (OG), and dehydrated apple‐based snack without prebiotic as control (CG). Values are means of triplicate
determinations ± standard error. a,b,c Different letters are significantly different between groups for each stage (p ≤ 0.05) by Tukey's test
GONZÁLEZ‐HERRERA et al.
3 | R E S U LT S
For body weight, water, and food consumption, and fecal weight re‐
sults, no significant differences were observed between the study
groups (Table 1).
3.1 | Bacterial concentrations in feces
Results of bacterial concentrations are showed in Figure 1. The con‐
centrations of bifidobacteria were higher in mice treated with oligof‐
ructose and Agave fructans than the CG. Particularly, AG showed an
increase of approximately 9.8% in both stage of treatment compared
with the CG; whereas, the OG only had an elevation of approxi‐
mately 3.5% in comparison with controls.
With regard to lactobacillus, we observed increased concentra‐
tions in mice treated with Agave fructans (approximately 16% and
13% in stages 1 and 2, respectively) and oligofructose (approxi‐
mately 16% and 8% in stages 1 and 2, respectively) compared with
the CG (Figure 1). Finally, bacterial concentrations returned to basal
conditions after the washing period in both OG and AG.
F I G U R E 2   Short‐chain fatty acids contend (a: acetate, b: propionate, and c: butyrate) in feces of mice treated with Agave
fructans (AG), oligofructose (OG), and dehydrated apple‐based snack without prebiotic as control (CG). Values are means of duplicate
determinations ± standard error
|
      5 of 8
The observed increase in bifidobacteria and lactobacillus in
mice treated with apple‐based snack supplemented with Agave
fructans or oligofructose was accompanied by a decrease in coli‐
forms and Gram‐positive cocci. After 24 and 42 days of treatment,
both AG and OG exhibited a reduction of approximately 4% in the
concentration of total coliforms compared with the CG. With re‐
spect to Gram‐positive cocci, both intervention groups had a sig‐
nificant decrease in 60% in the bacterial concentration compared
with the controls (Figure 1).
3.2 | Short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations
in feces
During stage 1, AG and OG showed elevated levels of acetate
(10 µmol/g for both treatments), propionate (2.4 µmol/g for both
treatments), and butyrate (1.5 and 3.2  µmol/g for OG and AG, re‐
spectively) compared with the CG. In stage 2, AG had higher con‐
centrations of SCFA than the control group (20.8 µmol/g for acetate,
2.1 µmol/g for propionate, and 5.5 µmol/g for butyrate); whereas,
OG exhibited only higher levels of acetate (16.8 µmol/g) and butyrate
 |
6 of 8       GONZÁLEZ‐HERRERA et al.
(5.6 µmol/g) than the CG. Finally, after washing period, both inter‐
vention groups returned to basal conditions (Figure 2).
4 |  D I S CU S S I O N
The present study demonstrated that the intake of dehydrated
apple‐based snack supplemented with Agave fructans improves the
production of SCFA. In addition, the concentrations of bifidobacteria
and lactobacilli were also increased by Agave fructans supplemented
apple‐based snack, while the concentrations of coliforms and cocci
were reduced.
In agreement with our results, Pompei et al. (2008) also observed
similar changes on bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in favor of fructans
compared with oligofructose. This could be due to the presence of
agave fructans which have very complex molecular structures in‐
cluding highly branched and present a terminal glucose molecule
(graminans) or internal glucose (agavins) (Mancilla‐Margalli & López,
2006). The branches in the Agave fructans result in terminal fruc‐
tose available for the fructosyltransferases of bacteria (Huazano‐
García & López, 2013) favoring the fermentation process of these
fructans.
In addition, an efficient fermentation process is characterized
by the decrease in pH promoting an acid environment (Huazano‐
García & López, 2013), which is highly beneficial for the growth
of bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli but is detrimen‐
tal for the growth undesirable species such as coliforms and cocci
(Márquez‐Aguirre et al., 2013; Pan, Chen, Wu, Tang, & Zhao,
2009).
The principal end products of fructans metabolism are SCFA
(Cummings & Macfarlane, 1991). The production of SCFA is per‐
formed in the caecum and distal colon. These are rapidly absorbed
and only from 5% to 10% are excreted in the feces; once absorbed,
SCFA are metabolized mainly in the cells of the caecum‐colonic epi‐
thelium for maintenance energy, by hepatocytes for gluconeogene‐
sis, and by muscle cells for generating energy (Van Loo, Coussement,
Leenheer, Hoebregs, & Smits, 1995). Nevertheless, although the
concentrations of SCFA in feces are not the best method to mea‐
sure the production rates, this evaluation is considered an accept‐
able indicator to evaluate the effect of fructans diet since a large
proportion is taken up by the colonic mucosa (Huazano‐García &
López, 2013). With this regard, we found that the intake of dehy‐
drated apple‐based snack supplemented with Agave fructans or
oligofructose improves the production of SCFA in mice compared
with CG. The elevation of SCFA observed in both groups varies ac‐
cording to the type of prebiotic and treatment period. Interestingly,
in stage 1, OG showed a greater effect in butyrate concentrations in
comparison with AG; however, this effect was similar in both groups
during stage 2. Several studies have reported that the production
of SCFA is affected by diverse factors such as the chemical com‐
position of the substrate, the bacterial species composition of the
microbiota, the competitive and cooperative interactions between
bacteria, and intestinal transit time (Cook & Sellin, 1998; Cummings
et al., 1997; Roberfroid, 2005). In this regard, the significant effect
of AG on SCFA production may be related to the high degree of po‐
lymerization (DP23) of AG which leads to a slower fermentation in
the caecum and proximal colon reaching the distal colon with few
structural changes, where the resident bacteria use these indigest‐
ible carbohydrates to produce high concentrations of SCFA (Hughes
& Rowland, 2000) resulting in an acidic environment that favors
the maintenance and development of bacterial strains involved in
the synthesis of SCFA (Gibson, 1999; Gibson, Probert, Loo, Rastall,
& Roberfroid, 2004; Huazano‐García & López, 2013). Hence, this
mechanism could explain, at least in part, the beneficial effect of AG
in the reduction of coliforms and cocci.
Because the proportions of SCFA can vary depending on diet,
microbiota composition, site of fermentation, and host genotype
(Hamer et al., 2008), the microbiota modulation and SCFA produc‐
tion could be a novel target in the prevention and/or treatment of
several diseases. In this context, previous studies have indicated
that specific SCFA may reduce the risk of developing some chronic
gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease and
colorectal cancer (Huda‐Faujan et al., 2010; Scheppach, Bartram, &
Richter, 1995). However, further research in this field is required in
order to elucidate the biological mechanisms induced by prebiotic
therapy on humans.
5 | CO N C LU S I O N S
Results of the present study revealed that the dehydrated apple‐
based snack supplemented with Agave fructans increases the pro‐
duction of SCFA by changes in the microbiota. Thus, Agave fructans
supplement acts as nutraceutical and might be a new alternative for
prevention or treatment of human diseases; however, future clinical
trials are warranted in order to confirm our findings.
AC K N OW L E D G M E N T S
This project was financially supported by Strengthening and
Development of Scientific and Technological Infrastructure Program
(Grants No. 253333 and 224651) also CONACyT is acknowledged.
SMGH thanks to the Mexican National Council of Science and
Technology (CONACYT) for the financial support during her doctor‐
ate studies through the scholarship 55354.
C O N FL I C T O F I N T E R E S T
The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.
ORCID
Claudia I. Gamboa‐Gómez  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2815-9406
GONZÁLEZ‐HERRERA et al.
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How to cite this article: González‐Herrera SM,
Rocha‐Guzmán NE, Simental‐Mendía LE, et al. Dehydrated
://doi.
apple‐based snack supplemented with Agave fructans exerts
prebiotic effect regulating the production of short‐chain
fatty acid in mice. J Food Process Preserv. 2019;e14026.
https​://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.14026​