Interactions between fecal bacteria, bile acids and components of tomato pomace

The tomato pomace obtained during processing as a residue of tomato processing from large industry. The interactions between tomato pomace and fecal bacteria, bile acids during in vitro digestion were studied. Digestion was carried out by using bioreactor in anaerobic conditions. Tomato pomace can significantly affect the count of fecal bacteria and the solubility of bile acids in in vitro digestion due to bonding ability of their proteins/peptides. The availability and use of bile acids does not only depend on the interactions between bile acids and bacteria, but also the interactions of bile acids with digested food components. Tomato pomace characterized high dietary fiber content and its fractions: 17.64–21.53% for cellulose and 13.48–18.63% for lignin. Given our results we supposed that fecal bacteria can use primary bile acids, as their source of energy in an environment where carbon availability is limited.