Persimmon Powder from Discarded Fruits as a Potential Prebiotic to Modulate Gut Microbiota in Postmenopausal Women

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript entitled “Persimmon powder from discarded fruits as a novel prebiotic to modulate gut microbiota in postmenopausal women” addresses a highly topical issue in the field of food and nutrition research by originally integrating the concepts of sustainability, valorization of agro-food waste, and modulation of the gut microbiota. The use of discarded persimmon fruits as a source of a functional ingredient represents a concrete example of circular economy, while its application to a vulnerable population such as postmenopausal women responds to a clinical and nutritional need that remains insufficiently explored. The multi-level approach, combining chemical characterization, in vitro digestion, and advanced gut microbiota fermentation models (SHIME®), makes the study potentially relevant both for basic research and for industrial and translational applications. Nevertheless, several points could be addressed to further improve the quality of the manuscript.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English could be improved to more clearly express the research.

Author Response

Thank you very much for your contributions which have made the work more understandable. Here are the answers to the questions you asked. You can see the changes in the new version of the manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study investigated the prebiotic potential of persimmon powder produced from discarded fruits and dried at different temperatures, focusing on its effects during long‑term SHIME fermentation. The topic of this study is meaningful, and the experimental design is sound and appropriate for addressing the research questions. Here are my comments:

 

1. Please ensure that all abbreviations are defined upon first use in the main text, such as line 68 “R. champanellensis, F. prausnitzii”.
2. The description of SCFAs as secondary metabolites is inaccurate. SCFAs are primarily defined as major fermentation end-products of gut microbiota derived from dietary fibers.
3. Many sentences in the manuscript lack in-text citations to support the statements, such as line 78. Authors should carefully ensure that their statements are scientifically supported.
4. Lines 109 and 110, “10.000 rpm” and “4.000 rpm” please check.
5. Please ensure consistent usage of the term 'SCFAs' throughout the manuscript.
6. The first row of Table 1 is not the header row.
7. The three groups in Figure 1 are not clearly distinguishable by color.
8. Line 350, please include the standard deviation (SD) or standard error (SEM) for the results.
9. Please add a label to the Y-axis in Figures 2 – 4 and 6.
10. The results presented in the Sankey diagram are not clear. I suggest using an alternative visualization method.
11. I suggest moving the results regarding SCFAs to the main text, as they are crucial to the study.

Author Response

Thank you very much for your contributions which have made the work more understandable. Here are the answers to the questions you asked. You can see the changes in the new version of the manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript has been correctly revised in accordance with the reviewers’ comments and is therefore suitable for publication in Foods.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English could be improved to more clearly express the research.