Abstract
The gut microbiota has been shown in recent years to be involved in the development and severity of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of the present study was to test the effect of a 2-week functional food intervention on the gut microbiota composition in prediabetic individuals. A randomized double-blind, cross-over trial was conducted on prediabetic subjects. Fifteen volunteers were provided products made of: (i) 50% taro flour + 50% wheat flour; (ii) these products and the probiotic L. plantarum IS-10506; or (iii) these products with beetroot adsorbed for a period of 2 weeks with 2 weeks wash-out in between. Stool and blood samples were taken at each baseline and after each of the interventions. The gut microbiota composition was evaluated by sequencing the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene and anthropometric measures were recorded. The total weight loss over the entire period ranged from 0.5 to 11 kg. The next-generation sequencing showed a highly personalized microbiota composition. In the principal coordinate analyses, the samples of each individual clustered closer together than the samples of each treatment. For six individuals, the samples clustered closely together, indicating a stable microbiota. For nine individuals, the microbiota was less resilient and, depending on the intervention, the beta-diversity transiently differed greatly only to return to the composition close to the baseline during the wash-out. The statistical analyses showed that 202 of the total 304 taxa were significantly different between the participants. Only Butyricimonas could be correlated with taro ingestion. The results of the study show that the highly variable interindividual variation observed in the gut microbiota of the participants clouded any gut microbiota modulation that might be present due to the functional food interventions.
Highlights
The increase of type 2 diabetes (T2D) worldwide is occurring at a dramatic speed.By the year 2030, of a projected world population of 8.5 billion [1], 360 million people are predicted to have T2D [2]
The aim of the current study was to study the effect of taro starch alone or in combination with the probiotic L. plantarum IS-10506 or beetroot on the gut microbiota of prediabetic
Different cut-offs have been defined for metabolic syndrome, in all cases a value of ≥ 3.8 is considered to be indicative of metabolic syndrome [31]. Alongside their weight loss program, the participants followed interventions with a 50:50 mix of taro/wheat flour alone, or taro/wheat flour with the probiotic L. plantarum IS-10506, or taro/wheat flour with beetroot adsorbed compared with wheat flour alone
Summary
The increase of type 2 diabetes (T2D) worldwide is occurring at a dramatic speed.By the year 2030, of a projected world population of 8.5 billion [1], 360 million people are predicted to have T2D [2]. The increase of type 2 diabetes (T2D) worldwide is occurring at a dramatic speed. An increase in energy intake and a decrease in energy expenditure are the leading commonly accepted causes of obesity associated with T2D and metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. The gut microbiota has recently been shown to play an important role [3,4,5,6]. Both the composition and/or the activity of the gut microbiota can be changed using functional food ingredients. The effects of food ingredients on T2D through the modulation of the composition and/or activity of the gut microbiota need to be considered
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