Abstract
Dietary modulation of the gut microbiota impacts human health. Here we investigated the hitherto unknown effects of resistant starch type 4 (RS4) enriched diet on gut microbiota composition and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations in parallel with host immunometabolic functions in twenty individuals with signs of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Cholesterols, fasting glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin, and proinflammatory markers in the blood as well as waist circumference and % body fat were lower post intervention in the RS4 group compared with the control group. 16S-rRNA gene sequencing revealed a differential abundance of 71 bacterial operational taxonomic units, including the enrichment of three Bacteroides species and one each of Parabacteroides, Oscillospira, Blautia, Ruminococcus, Eubacterium, and Christensenella species in the RS4 group. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed higher faecal SCFAs, including butyrate, propionate, valerate, isovalerate, and hexanoate after RS4-intake. Bivariate analyses showed RS4-specific associations of the gut microbiota with the host metabolic functions and SCFA levels. Here we show that dietary RS4 induced changes in the gut microbiota are linked to its biological activity in individuals with signs of MetS. These findings have potential implications for dietary guidelines in metabolic health management.
Highlights
In our trial, the RS4-group had improved lipid profiles and body composition[6]
All twenty participants who had signs of metabolic syndrome at baseline and submitted adequate stool samples at four data collection time points were included in the current investigation (Fig. 1), which allowed for comparison of the gut microbial and SCFA profiles before and after the interventions and between the endpoints of the RS4 and control flour (CF) interventions
Our present study provides for the first time a microbiome signature in response to RS4 consumption in subjects with Metabolic syndrome (MetS)
Summary
The RS4-group had improved lipid profiles and body composition[6]. Since RS4 is indigestible, we hypothesized that the health benefits of RS4 are derived from its ability to influence the gut microbial community structure, which may, in turn, be linked to altered bacterial fermentation and SCFA production[17]. Here, in twenty selected participants with MetS, we retrospectively examined the changes in the microbiota composition and the SCFA production in the gut, measured the concentrations of three circulatory adipocytokine markers, and estimated the macronutrient and caloric intake during the intervention period. The host anthropometric and metabolic parameters were reanalysed in this cohort to show microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions
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