Gut enterotypes are stable during Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus probiotic supplementation

Abstract

The human gut microbiome has been classified into three distinct enterotypes (Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Ruminococcus). The relationship between probiotics and gut enterotype is not yet clear. Cayenne pepper is effective in vitro as a prebiotic for Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, so cayenne ingestion with probiotics may lead to more profound gut microbial shifts. We aimed to determine whether probiotics (with or without cayenne pepper) alter gut bacterial community composition and if these changes are associated with the original gut enterotype of the individual. A total of 27 adult participants provided three fecal samples: prior to probiotic treatment (baseline), post probiotic treatment (probiotic), and post probiotic plus cayenne pepper treatment (probiotic + cayenne). DNA was extracted, amplified, and the V4 region sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform using V2 chemistry. Sequence reads were processed in mothur and assigned using the SILVA reference by phylotype. Three enterotypes characterized the study population—Bacteroides (B; n = 6), Prevotella (P; n = 11), and Ruminoccocus (R; n = 10). There was no significant increase in probiotic genera in fecal samples after treatment periods. Alpha diversity scores were significantly lower in B‐type but not in P‐ or R‐type individuals after probiotic treatment. For the majority of individuals, their enterotype remained constant regardless of probiotic (and cayenne) treatment. This suggests that baseline gut community characteristics and enterotype classification influence responsiveness to probiotic treatment, but that enterotype is stable across administration of prebiotic and probiotics.Practical ApplicationA person's gut microbial community influences their responsiveness to probiotics and prebiotic ingredients. Consumers must understand that it is difficult to shift their gut microbiota even with simultaneous administration of prebiotic and probiotic. Greater understanding of these phenomena will enable consumers to choose the most efficacious products for their needs.

Effectiveness of Multistrain Probiotic Formulation on Common Infectious Disease Symptoms and Gut Microbiota Modulation in Flu-Vaccinated Healthy Elderly Subjects

“…Indeed, it is well known that the intestinal microbiota tends to be quite stable during time in healthy subjects and it seems to have a certain resilience to perturbations, unless drastic interventions occur (i.e., after antibiotic treatment) or durable variation in lifestyle (i.e., long-term diet) [77,78]. This result is also consistent with what was observed in other scientific studies, performed on pre-and probiotics, in which the administration of such products leads to slight or no changes in the macroscopical microbial composition [79][80][81][82]. Nevertheless, in our study, a certain effect of the probiotic treatment was observed on the variation rate of some relevant taxa.…”

Effect of the administration of probiotics on the fecal microbiota of adult individuals

“…However, after removing individual differences, it appeared that Type B was more vulnerable than Type P when the probiotics were administered. The same observation has been obtained in a previous study (Haddad et al., 2020 ; Kang et al., 2016 ), which indicates that the ability of probiotic intervention to alter the gut bacterial community was affected by the baseline intestinal community. Additionally, a healthy flora must have the potential properties of resilience to internal factors (such as age) and external factors (such as dietary) perturbation and recover a healthy balance (Lloyd‐Price et al., 2016 ).…”

Isomaltooligosaccharides Sustain the Growth of Prevotella Both In Vitro and in Animal Models

“…Bifidobacteria are considered to be a beneficial bacterial group in modern Western society ( 28 ). Prebiotics, which are labeled according to their bifidogenic effect, are inferred to exert positive impacts only for B-enterotype individuals ( 29 ). Previous works have demonstrated that there is a negative correlation between the presence of Prevotella and Bifidobacterium populations in the African Hadza community.…”