The Role of Lactobacillus plantarum in Producing Prebiotics and Evaluation Parameters of Prebiotic Properties for Health: A Review

Lactobacillus plantarum, a facultative anaerobic and microaerophilic lactic acid bacterium (LAB), is gaining popularity in research due to its multifunctional properties. This review aims to summarise information about the use of L. plantarum from prebiotics-producing fermentation, evaluation parameters of prebiotic properties, and its application in the health field. L. plantarum can potentially be used as a fermentation culture because it can produce pullulanase enzymes that can break 1,6-glycosidic bonds or amylopectin branch chains to produce straight amylose chains. The fermentation process, followed by heating and cooling, can retrograde and crystallise amylose fractions, thereby increasing the amount of prebiotic content in the form of resistant starch. Interestingly, the prebiotics were then evaluated using L. plantarum again to analyse several standard parameters, including the prebiotic index, prebiotic effects, and prebiotic activity. Moreover, L. plantarum, when used as probiotics, was incorporated into prebiotic-rich fermented food and beverage ingredients and then distributed to the market for promoting gastrointestinal health.