Table 1_Lactiplantibacillus plantarum peptides and probiotics from peanut butter enhance antimicrobial activity and gut microbiota modulation.docx

Still, the quantitative links between peanut fermentation, peptide–probiotic synergy, digestive survival, and microbiota modulation remain unclear.</p>Objective<p>We optimized bioactive peptide production from reduced-fat (33%) and full-fat (50%) peanut butter fermented with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ATCC 14917 for 0–72 h using a full factorial design.</p>Methods<p>The < 3 kDa peptide fraction was combined with Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 and Bifidobacterium bifidum ATCC 29521 at sub-inhibitory levels.

Antimicrobial activity against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Clostridioides difficile was tested by agar diffusion, MIC, MBC, and checkerboard assays. Gastrointestinal stability followed the INFOGEST protocol, and colonic fermentation used fecal inoculum from three healthy donors to track microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).</p>Results<p>At 72 h of fermentation, reduced-fat matrix reached 61.3% hydrolysis and 9.45 log10 CFU/mL, which was 16% above full-fat.