Effects of Probiotics Administration on Human Metabolic Phenotype

Abstract

The establishment of the beneficial interactions between the host and its microbiota is essential for the correct functioning of the organism, since microflora alterations can lead to many diseases. Probiotics improve balanced microbial communities, exerting substantial health-promoting effects. Here we monitored the molecular outcomes, obtained by gut microflora modulation through probiotic treatment, on human urine and serum metabolic profiles, with a metabolomic approach. Twenty-two subjects were enrolled in the study and administered with two different probiotic types, both singularly and in combination, for 8 weeks. Urine and serum samples were collected before and during the supplementation and were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and statistical analyses. After eight weeks of treatment, probiotics deeply influence the urinary metabolic profiles of the volunteers, without significantly altering their single phenotypes. Anyway, bacteria supplementation tends to reduce the differences in metabolic phenotypes among individuals. Overall, the effects are recipient-dependent, and in some individuals, robust effects are already well visible after four weeks. Modifications in metabolite levels, attributable to each type of probiotic administration, were also monitored. Metabolomic analysis of biofluids turns out to be a powerful technique to monitor the dynamic interactions between the microflora and the host, and the individual response to probiotic assumption.

Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus reuteri as Functional Feed Additives to Prevent Diarrhoea in Weaned Piglets

“…Since few papers have assessed the effects of L. plantarum and L. reuteri strains and their synergy through a wide range of bacterial combination and supplementation levels, more studies are required to clarify the functional proprieties and the optimal inclusion level of these two bacterial strains on diarrhoea prevention in weaned piglets. In addition, probiotics may interact with the host metabolism [30] through their hypocholesterolemic and liver protection effects [31,32]. Furthermore, the bacterial combination does not always result in a synergistic effect, also showing possible competition among probiotic strains [33].…”

Inhibition of Cronobacter sakazakii in an infant simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem using a potential synbiotic

“…In general, there seems to be a time-dependent association between metabolomic profiles and treatments. Probiotics can influence the levels of SCFA and other metabolites, but the effects might be specific to the individual (Ghini et al, 2020;Markowiak-Kopeć and Śliżewska, 2020). Previous studies have also reported that metabolomic profiles are more stable than microbiota profiles (Abdulkadir et al, 2016;O'Connell, 2020), which may indicate that the beneficial effects of probiotics may not be revealed solely by metabolomics analyses.…”

Exploring the Effects of Probiotic Treatment on Urinary and Serum Metabolic Profiles in Healthy Individuals

“…, food compounds) and some of them are exclusive of bacterial origin with a key role in host-microbiota cross-talk . These metabolic changes driven by bacteria have been documented at fecal, urine, and serum levels. ,− Dietary interventions are emerging as a strategy to reshaping and modulate not only the gut microbiota composition, but even their metabolomes, with concomitant positive effects on the hosts . Similarly, it is demonstrated that the administration of exogenous beneficial bacteria in a close pre-existent ecosystem generates metabolic mutualistic benefits for both the microbial community and the host. , …”

“…The probiotic blends were composed of strains of the Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Limosilactobacillus fermentum, and Bifidobacterium longum species and the period of the administration was characterized by a total of 8 weeks. As previously demonstrated, to have a more robust image of the metabolic behavior of the holobiont, a strong point that we proposed in this work is the use of different biofluids (urine and serum) and 20 samples per subject for urine, considered much more related to inherent variability than serum. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the one-dimensional (1D) NMR urine and serum spectra and to evaluate the effect of the probiotics on the human metabolome.…”