Abstract
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) bacterially produced in the intestine provide a variety of physiological effects for the host. The present before-after clinical trial was conducted to investigate the effects of young barley leaf extract (YBL) on fecal SCFA levels. For 4 weeks, female health subjects were asked to ingest two sticks (8 g) of test sample daily. Feces were collected before and after the period of treatment with YBL. Results demonstrated that YBL significantly elevated the fecal concentrations of acetate from 23.6±7.5 to 36.4±8.1 μmol/g (p<0.001) and propionate from 10.0±5.2 to 13.6±7.1 μmol/g (p<0.05) but, did not give an advantage in fecal bacterial composition. Interestingly, YBL also raised the fecal moisture by 3.9% point from the baseline (p<0.05).
Highlights
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are physiologically active byproducts primarily produced from the fermentation of soluble dietary fiber and resistant starch by commensal bacteria in the gut
Parts of bacterially produced SCFAs are utilized as an energy substrate for the host’s enterocyte, another part is directly incorporated into the blood circulation, and the other part is excreted in the feces
In light of the physiological importance of SCFAs, the search for the dietary factors that increase the formation of SCFAs and/or shape intestinal microbial structure becomes the focus of scientific interest
Summary
Intestinal microbial flora is well recognized as a mediator for health and disease. Recent evidence suggests that the microbiome may affect the host’s physiological functions of energy metabolism, immune regulation, and brain function (Clemente et al, 2012). There is emerging evidence that types of microbial metabolites directly influence such a variety of physiological functions (Lee and Hase, 2014). They are capable of incorporating from the intestinal environment into the blood circulation, interacting with relevant tissues. In light of the physiological importance of SCFAs, the search for the dietary factors that increase the formation of SCFAs and/or shape intestinal microbial structure becomes the focus of scientific interest. Our previous animal model study showed that diet treatment with YBL significantly increased the cecal levels of SCFAs and decreased the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes, as determined by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) patterns for fecal 16S ribosomal RNA gene, suggesting that YBL influences positively on gut health (Unno et al, 2016). We had conducted a before-after trial of investigating the effects of YBL on the microbial composition and fecal SCFA levels in female humans
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