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Changes in human gut microbiota influenced by probiotic fermented milk ingestion
Tatsuya Unno1, Jung-Hye Choi2, Hor-Gil Hur3
1Faculty of Biotechnology, College of Applied Life Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 690-756, Republic of Korea.
Journal of Dairy Science
|April 13, 2015
Summary
Consuming probiotic fermented milk (PFM) altered human gut microbial structure, increasing Bacteroidetes species. The gut microbiota remained stable overall, with most operational taxonomic units (OTUs) maintained after PFM consumption.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Gastroenterology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- The human gut microbiome plays a crucial role in health and disease.
- Dietary interventions, such as probiotic fermented milk (PFM), are explored for their impact on gut microbial composition.
- Understanding these effects is key to developing targeted nutritional strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of probiotic fermented milk (PFM) consumption on the structure of the human intestinal microbial community.
- To analyze changes in fecal microbiota composition at phylum and genus levels before, during, and after PFM intake.
- To assess the stability of the gut microbial community in response to PFM.
Main Methods:
- High-throughput barcoded pyrosequencing of the V1-V3 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene.
- Analysis of fecal microbiota from six healthy adults over three periods: before, during (3 weeks), and after (3 weeks) PFM ingestion.
- Characterization of microbial community structure at phylum, family, and genus levels, including operational taxonomic units (OTUs).
Main Results:
- PFM consumption led to a significant increase in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes species at the phylum level.
- The increase in Bacteroidetes was attributed to an expansion of the Bacteroidaceae or Prevotellaceae families.
- While genus-level composition showed considerable alteration, the majority (>77.8%) of total microbiota was maintained by shared OTUs, indicating overall stability.
Conclusions:
- Probiotic fermented milk (PFM) consumption can alter the microbial community structure in the adult human gastrointestinal tract.
- Despite alterations at finer taxonomic levels, PFM consumption appears to maintain the overall stability of the gut microbiota.
- These findings suggest PFM as a potential dietary modulator of gut microbial ecology.
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