Prebiotic Potential of Brewer’s Spent Grain Residual Solid After Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Evidence from a Colonic Fermentation Study

Vargas-Straube, María José; Rojas-Hidalgo, Francisca; Oliveira, Jordana Nunes de; Arancibia, Boris; Albuquerque, Thatyane Mariano de; Bezerra, Taliana Kênia Alencar; Souza, Eike Guilherme Torres de; de Souza, Evandro Leite; Mariotti-Celis, María Salomé; Zuñiga, María Elvira; Fuentes, Lida; Soto-Maldonado, Carmen

doi:10.3390/foods15132378

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.

Open AccessArticle

Prebiotic Potential of Brewer’s Spent Grain Residual Solid After Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Evidence from a Colonic Fermentation Study

by

María José Vargas-Straube

¹,

Francisca Rojas-Hidalgo

^1,2,

Jordana Nunes de Oliveira

³,

Boris Arancibia

^1,2,

Thatyane Mariano de Albuquerque

³,

Taliana Kênia Alencar Bezerra

⁴

,

Eike Guilherme Torres de Souza

⁴

,

Evandro Leite de Souza

³

,

María Salomé Mariotti-Celis

⁵

,

María Elvira Zuñiga

^1,2,

Lida Fuentes

^1,2,*

and

Carmen Soto-Maldonado

^1,2

¹

Centro Regional de Estudios en Alimentos Saludables (CREAS), Valparaíso 2373223, Chile

²

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2362804, Chile

³

Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Brazil

⁴

Multi-User Food Quality Laboratory, Department of Food Engineering, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Brazil

⁵

Faculty of Medicine and Health, Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago 7501015, Chile

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Foods 2026, 15(13), 2378; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132378

Submission received: 6 June 2026 / Revised: 29 June 2026 / Accepted: 1 July 2026 / Published: 3 July 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Clean and Sustainable Food Processing: Circular Bioeconomy and Food Waste Valorization)

Download Versions Notes

Abstract

Brewer’s spent grain (BSG), the main by-product of the brewing industry, is a rich source of arabinoxylans (AXs) and hydroxycinnamic acids, particularly ferulic acid (FA), which contribute to its prebiotic potential. This study evaluates the prebiotic properties of residual solid from an enzymatically treated BSG, compared to the properties of BSG as a non-enzymatically hydrolyzed control. Although the residual solid exhibited total polyphenol (2581.96 ± 70.63 mg/100 g dry weight) and FA (180.84 ± 3.28 mg/100 g dry weight) contents comparable to those of the non-hydrolyzed control (2500.38 ± 284.20 and 179.59 ± 3.30 mg/100 g dry weight, respectively), the AX content was significantly higher (14,084.81 ± 185.72 mg/100 g), accompanied by a lower degree of feruloylation (12.84 ± 0.23 mg FA/g AX), higher antioxidant activity (64,825.35 ± 4011.24 μmol TE/100 g), and structural changes visualized by scanning electron microscopy. In addition, in vitro colonic fermentation showed a delayed butyrogenic profile, with increased butyrate production compared to the control (3.17 ± 1.44 mM). Microbiota analysis by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) coupled with flow cytometry indicated an increase in butyrate-producing bacteria, including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (+5.90) and Eubacterium rectale (+6.88). Growth of Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium spp. was also promoted. Overall, these findings suggest that enzymatic processing of BSG can generate a residual solid with modified structural characteristics and potential prebiotic functionality, supporting its potential application as a fermentable flour ingredient in functional foods.

Keywords: brewer’s spent grain; prebiotic fiber; arabinoxylans; ferulic acid; short-chain fatty acids; gut microbiota

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Vargas-Straube, M.J.; Rojas-Hidalgo, F.; Oliveira, J.N.d.; Arancibia, B.; Albuquerque, T.M.d.; Bezerra, T.K.A.; Souza, E.G.T.d.; de Souza, E.L.; Mariotti-Celis, M.S.; Zuñiga, M.E.; et al. Prebiotic Potential of Brewer’s Spent Grain Residual Solid After Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Evidence from a Colonic Fermentation Study. Foods 2026, 15, 2378. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132378

AMA Style

Vargas-Straube MJ, Rojas-Hidalgo F, Oliveira JNd, Arancibia B, Albuquerque TMd, Bezerra TKA, Souza EGTd, de Souza EL, Mariotti-Celis MS, Zuñiga ME, et al. Prebiotic Potential of Brewer’s Spent Grain Residual Solid After Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Evidence from a Colonic Fermentation Study. Foods. 2026; 15(13):2378. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132378

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vargas-Straube, María José, Francisca Rojas-Hidalgo, Jordana Nunes de Oliveira, Boris Arancibia, Thatyane Mariano de Albuquerque, Taliana Kênia Alencar Bezerra, Eike Guilherme Torres de Souza, Evandro Leite de Souza, María Salomé Mariotti-Celis, María Elvira Zuñiga, and et al. 2026. "Prebiotic Potential of Brewer’s Spent Grain Residual Solid After Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Evidence from a Colonic Fermentation Study" Foods 15, no. 13: 2378. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132378

APA Style

Vargas-Straube, M. J., Rojas-Hidalgo, F., Oliveira, J. N. d., Arancibia, B., Albuquerque, T. M. d., Bezerra, T. K. A., Souza, E. G. T. d., de Souza, E. L., Mariotti-Celis, M. S., Zuñiga, M. E., Fuentes, L., & Soto-Maldonado, C. (2026). Prebiotic Potential of Brewer’s Spent Grain Residual Solid After Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Evidence from a Colonic Fermentation Study. Foods, 15(13), 2378. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15132378

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Prebiotic Potential of Brewer’s Spent Grain Residual Solid After Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Evidence from a Colonic Fermentation Study

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI