Abstract
BackgroundDifferent dietary approaches, such as gluten and casein free diets, or the use of probiotics and prebiotics have been suggested in autistic spectrum disorders in order to reduce gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances. GI symptoms are of particular interest in this population due to prevalence and correlation with the severity of behavioural traits. Nowadays, there is lack of strong evidence about the effect of dietary interventions on these problems, particularly prebiotics. Therefore, we assessed the impact of exclusion diets and a 6-week Bimuno® galactooligosaccharide (B-GOS®) prebiotic intervention in 30 autistic children.ResultsThe results showed that children on exclusion diets reported significantly lower scores of abdominal pain and bowel movement, as well as lower abundance of Bifidobacterium spp. and Veillonellaceae family, but higher presence of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Bacteroides spp. In addition, significant correlations were found between bacterial populations and faecal amino acids in this group, compared to children following an unrestricted diet. Following B-GOS® intervention, we observed improvements in anti-social behaviour, significant increase of Lachnospiraceae family, and significant changes in faecal and urine metabolites.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study where the effect of exclusion diets and prebiotics has been evaluated in autism, showing potential beneficial effects. A combined dietary approach resulted in significant changes in gut microbiota composition and metabolism suggesting that multiple interventions might be more relevant for the improvement of these aspects as well as psychological traits.Trial registrationNCT02720900; registered in November 2015.
Highlights
Different dietary approaches, such as gluten and casein free diets, or the use of probiotics and prebiotics have been suggested in autistic spectrum disorders in order to reduce gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances
Baseline dietary intake Food diaries (N = 30) were analysed at baseline by comparing daily macronutrient and micronutrient intakes according to different diets that the children were following
Before prebiotic B-GOS® intervention, we evaluated the nutritional impact of exclusion diets (GFCF) and our results showed deficiency in vitamin D intake, which was significant in children on unrestricted diets
Summary
Different dietary approaches, such as gluten and casein free diets, or the use of probiotics and prebiotics have been suggested in autistic spectrum disorders in order to reduce gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances. In addition to cognitive aspects, autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) individuals can suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) problems such as abdominal discomfort, pain and gas distension [1]. Causes of these gut difficulties are unknown but have been suggested to involve gut microbiota, in particular reduced number of bifidobacteria and increased. Adam and colleagues looked at GI dysfunction as a parameter and noticed a strong correlation between GI symptoms and severity of autism [6] These results were confirmed by Tomova et al in a more recent study [7]
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