Resistant starch, microbiome, and precision modulation

• Published in: Gut microbes Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 1926842
• Main Authors: Dobranowski, Peter A., Stintzi, Alain
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.01.2021; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - metabolism; clinical trials; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; microbiome; personalized medicine; personalized therapies; precision medicine; Resistant starch; Resistant Starch - metabolism; Review; precision medicine; Resistant starch; clinical trials; personalized therapies; microbiome; personalized medicine
• ISSN: 1949-0976; 1949-0984
• DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1926842

Resistant starch, microbiome, and precision modulation. Mounting evidence has positioned the gut microbiome as a nexus of health. Modulating its phylogenetic composition and function has become an attractive therapeutic prospect. Resistant starches (granular amylase-resistant α-glycans) are available as physicochemically and morphologically distinguishable products. Attempts to leverage resistant starch as microbiome-modifying interventions in clinical studies have yielded remarkable inter-individual variation. Consequently, their utility as a potential therapy likely depends predominantly on the selected resistant starch and the subject's baseline microbiome. The purpose of this review is to detail i) the heterogeneity of resistant starches, ii) how resistant starch is sequentially degraded and fermented by specialized gut microbes, and iii) how resistant starch interventions yield variable effects on the gut microbiome.