Abstract
Dietary fibre has long been established as a nutritionally important, health-promoting food ingredient. Modern dietary practices have seen a significant reduction in fibre consumption compared with ancestral habits. This is related to the emergence of low-fibre “Western diets” associated with industrialised nations, and is linked to an increased prevalence of gut diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, type II diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome. The characteristic metabolic parameters of these individuals include insulin resistance, high fasting and postprandial glucose, as well as high plasma cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Gut microbial signatures are also altered significantly in these cohorts, suggesting a causative link between diet, microbes and disease. Dietary fibre consumption has been hypothesised to reverse these changes through microbial fermentation and the subsequent production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which improves glucose and lipid parameters in individuals who harbour diseases associated with dysfunctional metabolism. This review article examines how different types of dietary fibre can differentially alter glucose and lipid metabolism through changes in gut microbiota composition and function.
Highlights
The human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) harbours one of the most complex ecosystems on the planet; a vast community of microbial residents exist here in an intricate relationship that has co-evolved over time
The supplementation of GOS to obese, prediabetic males was reported to have no effect on insulin sensitivity, body composition or faecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) levels [124], while FOS supplementation caused no significant alterations in glucose metabolism in healthy individuals [158]
Microbiota–metabolic axis, evidence in this review suggests dietary fibre may be used as a nutraceutical intervention in the treatment of metabolic ill health
Summary
The human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) harbours one of the most complex ecosystems on the planet; a vast community of microbial residents exist here in an intricate relationship that has co-evolved over time. The gut microbiota profiles of humans are altered in metabolic disease states such as obesity [7], type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) [8] and cardiovascular disease (CVD) [9]. By identifying how specific fibre types regulate host microbiota populations, and by further elucidating the mechanisms by which the fermentation of fibre by these microorganisms affects metabolism and gut homeostasis, a gateway of possibilities opens up for targeted therapeutic dietary fibre intervention to aid in alleviating certain disease states associated with altered metabolism. Dietary fibre interventions may provide a solution in reducing the societal burden of gut diseases, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome and T2DM, on Western nations. This review aims to establish the effects that specific fibre types have on host microbial populations, and in turn what effect these changes have on host metabolism and disease pathology in metabolically challenged individuals.
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