Proteins, peptides and amino acids (AAs) that bypass upper gastrointestinal (GI) digestion can be fermented in the colonic regions. This could lead to microbial production of health promoting short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Nitrogenous compounds can also be fermented to generate potentially harmful branched chain fatty acids (BCFAs). As collagen hydrolysate (CH) supplements contain a high peptide content, we evaluated whether peptides that undergo intestinal CH digestion and microbial fermentation can generate SCFAs and BCFAs. Two bovine-sourced CH formulations (CH-GL and CH-OPT) underwent digestive processes and microbial fermentation for 24 h in a dynamic GI digestion model containing human fecal matter. After 24 h, CH-OPT showed a significant (p & 0.05) increase in SCFAs (propionic, butyric and valeric acids) in the ascending colonic vessel with no changes observed with CH-GL. Only CH-OPT showed a significant (p & 0.05) increase in BCFAs, also noted in the ascending colon. No significant (p & 0.05) changes to SCFAs and BCFAs were observed in the transverse and descending colons for both CHs. These findings demonstrate that CHs can induce microbial production of SCFAs and BCFAs although this appears to depend on the CH tested. More studies are needed to determine the physiological significance of these microbial metabolites from intake of CH supplements.
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