A fermented product was developed by using almond “milk” produced by soaking and grinding almonds cv. Marcona by using different potentially probiotic bacteria. An in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell model was used to evaluate the effect of not fermented almond milk (NFAM) and the fermented products on the mitochondrial enzymes activities (test MTT) of enterocytes. Otherwise, macrophages (RAW 264.7 cells) were challenged with the digests and the production of pro-inflammatory biomarkers (TNFα and IL-6) was determined by ELISA. A commercial milk-based infant formula (MBIF) providing B. bifidus was tested for comparison. MTT conversion values were increased in cell cultures exposed to almond milks, fermented or not, but decreased in those incubated with the digests from MBIF. There was a significant (P<0.05) decrease in the production of TNFα by macrophages exposed to digests from fermented almond milks inoculated with B. bifidum CECT 870 (5.8 ng/ml) or B. longum CECT 4551 (4.2 ng/ml) relative to NFAM and MBIF, which caused similar TNFα concentrations in cell culture supernatants (7.3-7.9 ng/ml). Macrophage cultures exposed to NFAM exhibited the highest IL-6 production, and MBIF produced IL-6 concentrations similar to almond milk inoculated with L. plantarum. Almond milk inoculated with both bifidobacteria caused the lowest production of IL-6. The results indicate that fermented almond milk favours energetic cell metabolism of enterocytes and had lower inflammatory potential than MBIF suggesting healthy benefits from those in managing cow-milk allergy/intolerance.
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