Postbiotics from Cannabis Fiber Gut Microbiota Fermentation

The food products derived from Hemp (Cannabis sativa subsp. sativa) are steering a large sector market that will reach almost USD 5 billion by 2026. Hemp seeds are considered a nutritional powerhouse, source of fibers and unsaturated lipids. During the food processing chain, the external part of the seed is discarded, although it contains a high number of proteins. This material should be transformed into value-added products to meet the demand of sustainable source of proteins and to reduce food waste. Hemp seed bran has shown to have prebiotic effects and to be rich in bioactive compounds, suggesting having potentials as a food product or fiber supplement. Notwithstanding, information on the functional capabilities of hemp seed bran is still little and the study of its impact on human colon microbiota would pave the way to comprehension. In fact, the human colon microbiota is the main responsible for digestion of vegetable fibers and the only for digestion of prebiotics. Recently with the aid of omics the precise characterization of prebiotic potential of hemp seed bran and its hydrolyzed product was revealed. The hemp seed bran samples were compared to a prebiotic positive control, the fructooligosaccharides (FOS), after human colonic fermentation using an in vitro colon gut model. During fermentation, metabolomics (SPME GCMS) and microbiomics (MiSeq and qPCR) analyses were conducted. The results highlighted the functional properties of hemp seed bran towards human colon microbiota by the observation of some ecological indicators. For example, hemp seed bran produces beneficial organic fatty acids, as the medium chained ones that are considered an indicator of colon eubiosis, reduces more detrimental phenol derivates, as p-Cresol, that is considered an indicator of negative proteolytic fermentation, and produces bioactives molecules as 4-Terpineol, that is a potent antioxidant terpene. Considering microbiomics, hemp seed bran fosters the growth of beneficial bacteria as Bifidobacterium bifidum; and limits opportunistic bacteria as Bilophila wadsworthia, that usually induce dysbiosis by sulfate reduction and H2S formation. The results collected evidenced the functionality and safety of hemp seed bran towards the human colon microbiota with an in vitro gut model approach. So far, following the principles of OneHealth and 3Rs it is possible to valorizes a byproduct as a sustainable protein source and contribute to the reduction on animal testing in food science.