IntroductionWhile modulation of the human adult gut microbiota is a trending strategy to improve health, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.MethodsThis study aimed to assess the predictive value of the ex vivo, reactor-based, high-throughput SIFR® (Systemic Intestinal Fermentation Research) technology for clinical findings using three structurally different prebiotics [inulin (IN), resistant dextrin (RD) and 2′-fucosyllactose (2′FL)].ResultsThe key finding was that data obtained within 1–2 days were predictive for clinical findings upon repeated prebiotic intake over weeks: among hundreds of microbes, IN stimulated Bifidobacteriaceae, RD boosted Parabacteroides distasonis, while 2′FL specifically increased Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Anaerobutyricum hallii. In line with metabolic capabilities of these taxa, specific SCFA (short-chain fatty acids) were produced thus providing insights that cannot be obtained in vivo where such metabolites are rapidly absorbed. Further, in contrast to using single or pooled fecal microbiota (approaches used to circumvent low throughput of conventional models), working with 6 individual fecal microbiota enabled correlations that support mechanistic insights. Moreover, quantitative sequencing removed the noise caused by markedly increased cell densities upon prebiotic treatment, thus allowing to even rectify conclusions of previous clinical trials related to the tentative selectivity by which prebiotics modulate the gut microbiota. Counterintuitively, not the high but rather the low selectivity of IN caused only a limited number of taxa to be significantly affected. Finally, while a mucosal microbiota (enriched with Lachnospiraceae) can be integrated, other technical aspects of the SIFR® technology are a high technical reproducibility, and most importantly, a sustained similarity between the ex vivo and original in vivo microbiota.DiscussionBy accurately predicting in vivo results within days, the SIFR® technology can help bridge the so-called “Valley of Death” between preclinical and clinical research. Facilitating development of test products with better understanding of their mode of action could dramatically increase success rate of microbiome modulating clinical trials.
Background: Sugar alcohols such as xylitol are incorporated in a number of oral hygiene products for their anti-cariogenic properties while chewing gum is known to be beneficial to oral hygiene. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the composition of the dental plaque microbiota in patients with active caries before and after using a chewing gum supplemented with maltitol. Design: Forty subjects with active caries were randomly allocated to chew maltitol gum or gum base for two weeks. A healthy control group used gum base for two weeks. Plaque samples were collected before and after treatment and the microbiota analysed by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Results: A total of 773,547 sequences were obtained from 117 samples. There was no difference in structure of the bacterial communities between groups (AMOVA). There was a significant difference in community membership between groups, (AMOVA, p=0.009). There was a significant difference between the control group after treatment and the maltitol patient group after treatment (p<0.001). A. naeslundii HOT-176 and Actinomyces HOT-169 were significantly reduced following use of maltitol chewing gum in patients. Conclusions: This study has shown that chewing gum containing maltitol had minor effects on the composition of the plaque microbiome.
Objectives Antioxidants display protective benefits both in food and pharmaceutical products against oxidative deterioration and in the body against pathologies brought by oxidative stress. Proteins can contain peptides sequences with potential antioxidant bioactivities. As plant-based proteins sources are more and more consumed, the screening of their antioxidant properties is of great interest to provide new alternative solutions in place of synthetic antioxidants and to meet enhanced public awareness about health issues. Various in vitro methods are validated for screening and some have been used here to qualify the antioxidative potential of NUTRALYS® pea protein range (Roquette). Methods Two grades of pea protein isolates, NUTRALYS® S85F and NUTRALYS® S85 Plus, were screened before or after in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion (IVD) for their antioxidant activity with different methods: 1/reactive oxygen species (ROS) adapted scavenging assays (acellular) (Haliwell et al., 1987; Aruoma et al., 1989) to determine their ability to inhibit the productions of O2.-, H2O2 and HO. radicals; 2/AOP1 (LUCS) technology (Gironde et al., 2020), evaluating on human keratinocytes (HaCat cells) the ROS scavenging potential by the kinetic evolution of a fluorescence emission; 3/Nrf2 technology (Furger, 2021) measuring on HaCat cells the ability to activate the ARE/Nrf2 gene pathway, responsible for natural antioxidant cell defense (cytoprotective effect), by oxyluciferin luminescent detection. Results NUTRALYS® S85F and S85 Plus demonstrated significant scavenging activities towards HO. and H2O2 (before and after IVD) and NUTRALYS® S85F towards O2.- (before IVD), with all IC50 far below 5 mg.mL−1 (Dugardin et al., 2020). No significant direct antioxidant effect (LUCS) was observed with NUTRALYS® S85 Plus digests, but significant activation of the ARE/Nrf2 gene pathway (EC50 = 1.39 mg.mL-1 dry matter), indicating a potential induction of cell anticipation towards putative radical aggression, and a long-term effect. Conclusions NUTRALYS® S85F and NUTRALYS® S85 Plus exhibit intrinsic antioxidative properties, often conserved after IVD, as observed through various methods. Based on these results, NUTRALYS® S85F and NUTRALYS® S85 Plus may therefore provide oxidative stability to food products and health benefits to the consumer. Funding Sources Roquette.
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