Artichoke and carrot waste as prebiotic ingredients

Dietary fibre concentrates of plant origin, especially those derived from artichokes and carrots, have great potential as prebiotics, as they improve the gut microbiota by promoting the predominance of Bacteroidetes bacteria. These bacteria ferment fibre and increase short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are essential for colon health. These characteristics would allow the reuse of waste from the juice extraction industry as functional ingredients, contributing to the valorisation of agricultural by-products. This is the main conclusion of the research carried out by researchers from the University of Lleida (UdL), Agrotecnio and IRBLleida, published in the journal Food Hydrocolloids for Health.

The study evaluated dietary fibre concentrates obtained from the remaining bagasse (pulp and skin) after the extraction of vegetable juices from artichokes, carrots, cucumbers and red peppers, provided by Indulleida S.A. The research team measured the impact on the specific composition of the gut microbiota and the production of SCFAs over 48 hours using an in vitro digestion model that simulates the human gastrointestinal process.

The results indicate that artichoke and carrot fibres particularly stimulate beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. The former also generates the highest amount of butyrate, or butyric acid, an essential compound as a source of energy for the gut microbiota.

Fermentation of cucumber, red pepper and carrot produces the highest concentrations of acetic acid, which is involved in various physiological functions, such as regulating satiety and body weight, antimicrobial activity and inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells. As for propionic acid, which is also related to the release of hormones that increase the feeling of satiety and can reduce food intake, an increase is observed during the first 24 hours with red pepper fibre and with cucumber fibre at 48 hours.

'Dietary fibre concentrates derived from vegetables not only help to preserve the pH of the colon, but also promote the release of short-chain fatty acids, which promotes intestinal health,' says IRBLleida researcher and professor Gemma Bellí, from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lleida and first author of the article. 'Artichoke derivatives, in particular, could be a promising candidate for future research as a functional dietary ingredient,' she adds.

This study is part of the project 'Design of functional foods containing active ingredients with potential anti-obesity properties,' jointly led by Bellí and Olga Martín-Belloso, a researcher at the School of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Veterinary Engineering (ETSEAFiV) at the University of Lleida. Ana A. Vaz, Isabel Odriozola-Serrano and Gemma Oms-Oliu, from ETSEAFiV, also participated. The team plans to conduct future in vivo studies.

Article: Ana A. Vaz, Isabel Odriozola-Serrano, Gemma Oms-Oliu, Olga Martín-Belloso, Gemma Bellí. Exploring the prebiotic potential of dietary fibre concentrates from artichoke, red pepper, cucumber, and carrot by-products, Food Hydrocolloids for Health, Volume 8, 2025, 100257, ISSN 2667-0259, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fhfh.2025.100257.

Information: UdL Press Office