Summary Recent studies have shown that dietary content affects the health of the host by changing the gut microbiota. However, little is known about the association of microbiota composition with habitual diet in Japanese people. Here, we aimed to clarify the relationship between the fecal microbiota and habitual dietary intake of micronutrients, macronutrients and food groups in healthy young Japanese women. Analysis of fecal microbiota was performed by the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) method, and a dietary survey was conducted over three consecutive days using a weighed food record method. T-RFLP pattern analysis divided the subjects into two clusters, where cluster A group had a high relative abundance of Bacteroides and Clostridium cluster IV, and cluster B group had a high relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillales. Cluster A group also had lower intakes of iron and vitamin K and higher intakes of mushrooms and snacks than cluster B group. Analysis of Spearman rank correlations found several significant relationships between fecal microbiota and intake of nutrients and food groups. Bifidobacterium was correlated with iron intake, and Clostridium cluster XI was negatively correlated with intakes of cholesterol and eggs. These results suggest that dietary habits may strongly affect Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides and Clostridium abundance in the gut microbiota of young Japanese women. This is the first study to show relationships between fecal microbiota and habitual dietary intake in Japanese people. Accumulation of results from similar studies will help to elucidate the relationships between dietary intake and diseases in Japanese people.
The Japanese diet (JD) is accepted as a healthy dietary pattern, which has protective effects against cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, it remains unclear whether there is any association between the JD and fecal microbiota composition. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between JD scores and fecal microbiota in young Japanese adults, through the analysis of fecal microbiota using the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) method. JD scores were calculated with regard to nine food groups (rice, miso soup, pickles, green and yellow vegetables, seaweeds, fish, green tea, meat, and coffee) based on a brief self-administered diet-history questionnaire. JD total scores were categorized as low (score 0-3) or high (score 4-8). The high-scoring JD group exhibited a significantly higher relative abundance of Bacteroides than the low JD group, whereas the low JD group exhibited a significantly higher relative abundance of Prevotella than the high JD group. With regard to food group intakes, a higher consumption of rice was associated with a significantly lower relative abundance of Prevotella, whereas a higher consumption of green tea was associated with a significantly higher relative abundance of Bifidobacterium. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating an association between JD score and fecal microbiota and may allow the prediction of changes in fecal microbiota due to changes in the JD.
Drinking tea is recommended for promoting health due to its bioactive nutrients, such as catechins and caffeine. In Tokushima area, we have a unique traditional tea, named Awa tea, which are fermented with Lactobacillus pentosus and Lactobacillus plantarum. The present study was designed to investigate anti-obesity effects of the Awa tea and compare with those of non-fermented green tea. Obese male Wistar rats (19 weeks of age) were given by low energy diets containing 3% of Awa and green tea extracts, respectively, or without any tea extracts (control), for 4 weeks. Awa tea contained smaller amount of catechins than green tea, although they contained similar amounts of polyphenols. This finding indicates that there are distinct kinds of polyphenols from catechins. The diets containing Awa and green tea extracts further decreased whole body weight, fat tissue mass and plasma leptin level, compared with control diet. In addition, their diets increased the daily amount of lipid excreted to feces and total 24-h-energy consumption, compared with the control group. However, there is no significant difference in these anti-obesity effects between Awa tea and green tea. Our results indicate that Awa lactate-fermented tea as well as green tea similarly enhance the effect of diet restriction on obesity, at least in part, through the increase in fat energy consumption and the decrease in fat absorption in rats.
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