Effects of Arabinoxylan and Resistant Starch on Intestinal Microbiota and Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomised Crossover Study

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 7; p. e0159223
• Main Authors: Hald, Stine, Schioldan, Anne Grethe, Moore, Mary E., Dige, Anders, Lærke, Helle Nygaard, Agnholt, Jørgen, Bach Knudsen, Knud Erik, Hermansen, Kjeld, Marco, Maria L., Gregersen, Søren, Dahlerup, Jens F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 19.07.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Adults; Aged; Animal sciences; Arabinoxylans; Bacteria; Bifidobacterium; Bifidobacterium - drug effects; Bifidobacterium - genetics; Bifidobacterium - growth & development; Biodiversity; Biology and Life Sciences; Carbohydrates; Chains; Communities; Composition effects; Cross-Over Studies; Diabetes; Diet; Dietary fiber; Dietary Fiber - administration & dosage; Endocrinology; Energy Metabolism - drug effects; Enrichment; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids, Volatile - metabolism; Feces - microbiology; Female; Fermentation; Food science; Gastroenterology; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Gastrointestinal Tract - drug effects; Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology; Gene amplification; Grain; Health aspects; Hepatology; Heterogeneity; Humans; Internal medicine; Intestinal microflora; Intestine; Male; Maternity & paternity leaves; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolic Syndrome - diet therapy; Metabolic Syndrome - microbiology; Metabolic syndrome X; Microbiology; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microbiota - drug effects; Middle Aged; Nutrition research; Physical Sciences; Randomization; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Rodents; rRNA 16S; Species diversity; Starch; Starch - administration & dosage; Taxa; Xylans - administration & dosage; Zoology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159223

Recently, the intestinal microbiota has been emphasised as an important contributor to the development of metabolic syndrome. Dietary fibre may exert beneficial effects through modulation of the intestinal microbiota and metabolic end products. We investigated the effects of a diet enriched with two different dietary fibres, arabinoxylan and resistant starch type 2, on the gut microbiome and faecal short-chain fatty acids. Nineteen adults with metabolic syndrome completed this randomised crossover study with two 4-week interventions of a diet enriched with arabinoxylan and resistant starch and a low-fibre Western-style diet. Faecal samples were collected before and at the end of the interventions for fermentative end-product analysis and 16S ribosomal RNA bacterial gene amplification for identification of bacterial taxa. Faecal carbohydrate residues were used to verify compliance. The diet enriched with arabinoxylan and resistant starch resulted in significant reductions in the total species diversity of the faecal-associated intestinal microbiota but also increased the heterogeneity of bacterial communities both between and within subjects. The proportion of Bifidobacterium was increased by arabinoxylan and resistant starch consumption (P<0.001), whereas the proportions of certain bacterial genera associated with dysbiotic intestinal communities were reduced. Furthermore, the total short-chain fatty acids (P<0.01), acetate (P<0.01) and butyrate concentrations (P<0.01) were higher by the end of the diet enriched with arabinoxylan and resistant starch compared with those resulting from the Western-style diet. The concentrations of isobutyrate (P = 0.05) and isovalerate (P = 0.03) decreased in response to the arabinoxylan and resistant starch enriched diet, indicating reduced protein fermentation. In conclusion, arabinoxylan and resistant starch intake changes the microbiome and short-chain fatty acid compositions, with potential beneficial effects on colonic health and metabolic syndrome. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01618526.