Chicken bone-derived peptides: characterization and effects on human gut microbiota using the Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME®).
Collagen peptides obtained from by-products have gained attention as functional ingredients due to their potential to interact with gut microbiota and related metabolic outcomes. This study characterized collagen peptides, extracted from chicken bones by enzymatic hydrolysis, and investigated how they interact with human gut microbiota using the dynamic SHIME® in vitro model. LC-MS/MS-based peptide profiling of the hydrolysate identified 286 peptides derived from 28 precursor proteins, predominantly with molecular weights <1500 Da and a high abundance of hydroxyproline. It was observed that the peptides treatment promoted a significant restructuring of the bacterial community in the ascending, transverse, and descending colon, stimulating the growth of genera such as Prevotella, Blautia, and Dorea while suppressing potentially pro-inflammatory microbial groups. The intervention also increased short-chain fatty acid production across sections during the 16-day treatment phase, particularly acetic (from 6.16 to 14.36 mM) and propionic acid (from 1.56 to 8.09 mM). Overall, these findings support the use of chicken bone-derived collagen peptides as a promising strategy to modulate gut microbiota ecology and metabolic outputs.