Iron Biofortified Carioca Bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.)-Based Brazilian Diet Delivers More Absorbable Iron and Affects the Gut Microbiota In Vivo ( Gallus gallus )

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 10; no. 12; p. 1970
• Main Authors: Dias, Desirrê Morais, Kolba, Nikolai, Binyamin, Dana, Ziv, Oren, Regini Nutti, Marilia, Martino, Hércia Stampini Duarte, Glahn, Raymond P, Koren, Omry, Tako, Elad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.12.2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Abundance; Animal Feed - analysis; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Bacteria; Beans; Bioavailability; Biofortification; Brazil; Caco-2 Cells; Catabolism; Chickens; Crops; Developing countries; Diet; Dietary fiber; Dietary Fiber - analysis; Dietary minerals; Dietary Proteins - analysis; Digestive system; Digestive tract; Female; Ferritins - metabolism; Food consumption; Food, Fortified; Gallus gallus; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; gut microbiome; Humans; Intestinal microflora; intestinal morphometry; Intestine; Iron; Iron - administration & dosage; Iron - chemistry; iron deficiency; LDCs; Legumes; Male; Mass spectrometry; metagenome; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Phaseolus - chemistry; Phaseolus vulgaris; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Phylogeny; Phytic Acid - analysis; Polyphenols; Polyphenols - analysis; Prebiotics; Probiotics; Proteins; Scientific imaging; Small intestine; Vegetables; Brazil; United States > US; Africa; Biofortification; polyphenols; intestinal morphometry; gut microbiome; metagenome; iron deficiency
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu10121970

Biofortification aims to improve the micronutrient concentration and bioavailability in staple food crops. Unlike other strategies utilized to alleviate Fe deficiency, studies of the gut microbiota in the context of Fe biofortification are scarce. In this study, we performed a 6-week feeding trial in ( = 15), aimed to investigate the Fe status and the alterations in the gut microbiome following the administration of Fe-biofortified carioca bean based diet (BC) versus a Fe-standard carioca bean based diet (SC). The tested diets were designed based on the Brazilian food consumption survey. Two primary outcomes were observed: (1) a significant increase in total body Hb-Fe values in the group receiving the Fe-biofortified carioca bean based diet; and (2) changes in the gut microbiome composition and function were observed, specifically, significant changes in phylogenetic diversity between treatment groups, as there was increased abundance of bacteria linked to phenolic catabolism, and increased abundance of beneficial SCFA-producing bacteria in the BC group. The BC group also presented a higher intestinal villi height compared to the SC group. Our results demonstrate that the Fe-biofortified carioca bean variety was able to moderately improve Fe status and to positively affect the intestinal functionality and bacterial populations.