Australian native fruit Davidson’s plum in yoghurt: prebiotic properties and influence on gut microbiome in vitro

Thomas Leadbetter; Said Ajlouni; Chaminda Senaka Ranadheera

doi:10.1071/MA25042

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Australian native fruit Davidson’s plum in yoghurt: prebiotic properties and influence on gut microbiome in vitro

Thomas Leadbetter ^A , Said Ajlouni ^A and Chaminda Senaka Ranadheera ^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Agriculture Food and Ecosystem Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic 3010, Australia.

Thomas Leadbetter is a PhD student at the University of Melbourne. His PhD project is on influence of Australian native fruits on human gut microbiome.

Assoc. Prof. Said Ajlouni is currently teaching Food Microbiology for Master students and Advanced Food Analysis for undergraduate students at the University of Melbourne. His principle research interests focus on food safety, quality and functionality, with special emphasis on probiotics and prebiotics.

Assoc. Prof. Senaka Ranadheera is a food microbiologist with teaching and research responsibilities. His research interests focus on probiotics and prebiotic food applications.

^* Correspondence to: senaka.ranadheera@unimelb.edu.au

Microbiology Australia 46(3) 163-167 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA25042

Submitted: 25 August 2025 Accepted: 8 September 2025 Published: 19 September 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY).

Abstract

Ooray/Davidson’s plum (Davidsonia pruriens) is a native Australian tree that produces fruits rich in antioxidants, fibre, anthocyanins and other nutrients that have been consumed by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples for many thousands of years. Their prebiotic properties have not been well documented in the literature. In this study, additions of D. pruriens as a source of prebiotics were evaluated by preparing yoghurts containing probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis with several different concentrations of D. pruriens powder (0, 0.5, 1, 2.5 and 5% (w/v)) and measuring yoghurt microbiological properties during 4 weeks of refrigerated storage. Viability of probiotics after in vitro digestion and colonic fermentation were also analysed. Microbiological shelf life was not affected by the additions of D. pruriens in yoghurt. Probiotic L. acidophilus and starter culture bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus survived well (~6 log CFU/g) in all types of yoghurts up to 2 weeks of storage. Yoghurt was shown to be a suitable product to enhance the viability of probiotic lactic acid bacteria during the colonic fermentation. D. pruriens 5% in yoghurt had a significantly higher survival after 48 h indicating potential beneficial effects of D. pruriens on probiotics and gut microbiota.

Keywords: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, bushfoods, colonic fermentation, digestion, fermentation, fermented foods, fruit yoghurt, functional foods, gut microbiota, lactic acid bacteria, probiotics.

Biographies

Thomas Leadbetter is a PhD student at the University of Melbourne. His PhD project is on influence of Australian native fruits on human gut microbiome.

Assoc. Prof. Said Ajlouni is currently teaching Food Microbiology for Master students and Advanced Food Analysis for undergraduate students at the University of Melbourne. His principle research interests focus on food safety, quality and functionality, with special emphasis on probiotics and prebiotics.

Assoc. Prof. Senaka Ranadheera is a food microbiologist with teaching and research responsibilities. His research interests focus on probiotics and prebiotic food applications.

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