The effect of legume supplementation on the gut microbiota in rural Malawian infants aged 6 to 12 months

Abstract

Background Common bean and cowpea contain about 25% protein and 25% fiber, and are recommended as complementary foods in sub-Saharan Africa. Objective The objective of this study was to determine if a daily legume supplement given to Malawian infants aged 6 to 12 mo alters the 16S configuration of the fecal microbiota as read out by amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). Methods This study was conducted within the context of a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial to assess whether cowpea or common bean supplementation reduced intestinal permeability or increased linear growth. There were 2 village clusters in which the study was conducted. Fresh stool collections were flash frozen from 236 infants at ≤6 time points. The stools were sequenced using Earth Microbiome project protocols and data were processed using Qiime and Qiita, open-source, validated software packages. α-diversity was measured using the Faith's test. The 16S configuration was characterized by determining the weighted UniFrac distances of the ASVs and comparing them using permutational multivariate ANOVA. Results Among the 1249 samples analyzed, the α-diversity of the fecal microbiome was unchanged among subjects after initiation of legume supplementation. Neither cowpea nor common bean altered the overall 16S configuration at any age. The 16S configuration differed between children with adequate and poor linear growth aged from 6 to 9 mo, but no specific ASVs differed in relative abundance. The 16S configuration differed between children with normal and abnormal intestinal permeability at 9 mo, but no specific ASVs differed in relative abundance. Among categorical characteristics of the population associated with different 16S configurations, village cluster was most pronounced. Conclusion Legume supplementation in breastfed, rural African infants did not affect the structure of the gut microbial communities until the children were aged 9 mo. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02472262.

Modifying gut integrity and microbiome in children with severe acute malnutrition using legume-based feeds (MIMBLE): A pilot trial

“…To date, studies examining the feasibility and effectiveness of legume-enriched feeds or diets in modulating gut health and microbial composition have been limited to community-based management of chronic or moderate acute malnutrition. 30 , 31 , 32 Our study investigates the use of a legume-enriched feed in the earliest stages of inpatient stabilization in acutely unwell children with SAM at the highest risk of death. Children during this stage of treatment are more likely to require antibiotic treatment, 33 which can negatively impact the gut microbiota and increase risk of diarrhea.…”

Maternal-Child Microbiome and Impact on Growth and Neurodevelopment in Infants and Children: A Scoping Review

“…Bierut et al (2021) reported improved length-for-age z-scores and lower stunting in infants aged 9–12 months supplemented with bovine colostrum and eggs without any significant difference in gut microbial composition between groups except for differences in relative abundance in several species. Ordiz et al (2020) observed no differences in alpha- and beta-diversities of infants (age 5–6 months) fed cow pea or common bean supplemented diets as compared to normal diets and reported a difference in gut microbial composition between normal growing and stunted infants; however, 16S sequencing did not reveal a microbiota signature of stunting. Additionally, Doyle et al (2017) reported no difference in mean bacterial load of select bacteria isolated from fetal tissues between neonatal infants with and without stunting.…”

Gut Microbiome-Targeted Nutrition Interventions and Growth among Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Table 5 shows the characteristics of “microbiome complementary feed” studies. Seven “microbiome complementary feeds” studies [ [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] ] met the inclusion criteria and were included for analysis. Out of these, 5 studies [ [52] , [53] , [54] , 56 , 57 ] were conducted among healthy children, whereas 2 [ 51 , 55 ] were among children with undernutrition.…”