Effect of fermentation on antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anti- Helicobacter pylori adhesion activity of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica root bark

Abstract

The limited yield of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica root bark (URB) extract is considered an economic loss to the food industry. Improving extraction yield and bioactivity through fermentation increase the industrial usage of URB. The study aims to optimize the fermentation with cellulolytic and pectinolytic bacteria and evaluate the bioactivity and anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of the fermented URB extract. URB fermentation with the Bacillus licheniformis FLa3, isolated from salted seafood (Sardinella zunasi), under optimal conditions (37 °C, pH 6, 10% inoculum dose, and 36 h) improved the extraction yield by 36% compared to the control. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the fermented extract were significantly higher than non-fermented extract. High-performance liquid chromatography results confirmed that the fermentation increased the proportion of bioactive components such as catechin (171.7%), epicatechin (144.3%), quercetin (27.3%), and kaempferol (16.7%). The results confirmed that the fermentation increased both the extraction yield and bioactivity.

Keywords: Anti-Helicobacter pylori; Bioactivity; Fermentation; Hydrolytic activity; Ulmus davidiana var. japonica root bark.

Fig. 1

Selection of strains and various factors for optimal fermentation. (A) Comparison of relative enzyme activity and extraction yield after fermentation; (B) Phylogenetic tree of Bacillus licheniformis FLa3; (C) Temperature (°C); (D) pH; (E) Inoculum (%, v/v); (F) Fermentation time (h). Different letters indicate significant differences between groups (p < 0.05)

Fig. 2

HPLC chromatogram of non-fermented and fermented URB extract. (A) Catechin and epicatechin; (B) Quercetin and kaempferol

Fig. 3

Cytotoxicity, anti-adhesion, and anti-inflammatory activity of non-fermented and fermented URB extract in AGS cells. (A) Cell viability; (B) Adhesion activity of H. pylori (MOI 200); (C) NO production; (D) TNF-α secretion; (E) IL-8 secretion. Different letters indicate significant differences between groups (p < 0.05)

Fig. 4

Effect of non-fermented and fermented extract on the mRNA expression level in AGS cells infected with H. pylori and translocation of CagA and VacA to AGS cells from H. pylori. (A)–(B) Relative levels of TNF-α and IL-8 normalized to GAPDH; (C) Expression of CagA and VacA analyzed by western blotting; (D)–(E) Relative intensity of CagA and VacA normalized to β-actin. Different letters indicate significant differences between groups (p < 0.05)