Arabinoxylans Release from Brewers' Spent Grain Using Extrusion and Solid-State Fermentation with Fusarium oxysporum and the Antioxidant Capacity of the Extracts

Brewers' spent grain (BSG) is the most abundant byproduct generated from the beer-brewing process. BSG is a material rich in hemicellulose, composed of arabinoxylans (AX). However, the high crosslinking of this material causes low availability of AX, for which it is necessary to apply different treatments. The objective of this research is to increase the release of arabinoxylans through solid-state fermentation with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici using extruded brewery spent grain. First, the BSG is subjected to two types of physical treatments: extrusion at 20% moisture, 200 rpm and 50 °C (BSGe), and blade milling (BSGm). The chemical composition is determined for each sample (BSG, BSGe and BSGm). Subsequently, the solid-state fermentation process (SSF) is carried out on each sample. The fermentation kinetics at 30 °C are monitored for 7 days. Once the SSF concludes, AX are extracted, and the purity of AX is determined by the phloroglucinol colorimetric assay. Finally, the total phenolic compounds, phenolic acids and antioxidant capacity by DPPH are quantified. No significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) in the protein, lipid, ash or total dietary fiber contents are found among the samples. No significant difference (p ≥ 0.05) in the content of soluble fiber is found, although BSGe and BSGm have higher values than BSG. On the other hand, the yields of soluble AX exhibit significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among nonfermented samples (BSG, 0.03%; BSGm, 0.53%; BSGe, 0.70%) and with SSF (BSG, 2.95%; BSGm, 6.24%; and BSGe, 9.58%). In addition, the contents of free phenolic compounds and free phenolic acids and the percent inhibition of free extracts by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) differ significantly (p ≤ 0.05) between samples subjected to SSF and nonfermented samples. Therefore, extrusion and SSF treatment increase AX release from BSG as well as the antioxidant capacity of the extracts.