It is interesting that L. acidophilus CECT 903 was not inhibited by
any of phenolic compounds tested in this work. Moreover, the major
novel finding was that extractable polyphenols from grape pomace
might act as a growth-stimulatory factor of L. acidophilus CECT 903.
This is important because previous research works about polyphenols
and intestinal bacteria interactions were focused only on antimicrobials
properties of pathogenic microorganisms. Even though our work
contributes to new knowledge in this field, a main limitation was the
study of one bacterial strain. It would be of interest to evaluate
whether growth-stimulatory effect of grape phenolic compounds
could be extrapolated to other intestinal bacteria species considered
as beneficial. It is important to note that polyphenols may exert a
double positive effect, on the one hand inhibiting pathogenic bacteria,
and on the other hand stimulating beneficial bacteria. Therefore, it can
be suggested that dietary polyphenols could induce a healthier
intestinal microbiota profile. However, healthy consequences are still
unknown. Thereby, the next approach would be to determine the
health benefits of the stimulating role of grape pomace polyphenols