Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2025
In vitro Digestion of Emulsions in a Single Droplet via Multi Subphase Exchange of Simulated Gastrointestinal Fluids
Published on: November 18, 2022
In vitro microbiota model recapitulates and predicts individualised sensitivity to dietary emulsifier
Héloïse Rytter1,2, Sabrine Naimi2, Gary Wu3
1Microbiome-Host Interactions, INSERM U1306, CNRS UMR6047, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
Background:
Non-absorbed dietary emulsifiers, including carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), directly disturb intestinal microbiota, thereby promoting chronic intestinal inflammation in mice. A randomised controlled-feeding study (Functional Research on Emulsifiers in Humans, FRESH) found that CMC also detrimentally impacts intestinal microbiota in some, but not all, healthy individuals.
Objectives:
This study aimed to establish an approach for predicting an individual's sensitivity to dietary emulsifiers via their baseline microbiota.
Design:
We evaluated the ability of an in vitro microbiota model (MiniBioReactor Arrray, MBRA) to reproduce and predict an individual donor's sensitivity to emulsifiers. Metagenomes were analysed to identify signatures of emulsifier sensitivity.
Results:
Exposure of human microbiotas, maintained in the MBRA, to CMC recapitulated the differential CMC sensitivity previously observed in FRESH subjects. Furthermore, select FRESH control subjects (ie, not fed CMC) had microbiotas that were highly perturbed by CMC exposure in the MBRA model. CMC-induced microbiota perturbability was associated with a baseline metagenomic signature, suggesting the possibility of using one's metagenome to predict sensitivity to dietary emulsifiers. Transplant of human microbiotas that the MBRA model deemed CMC-sensitive, but not those deemed insensitive, into IL-10-/- germfree mice resulted in overt colitis following CMC feeding.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that an individual's sensitivity to emulsifier is a consequence of, and can thus be predicted by, examining their baseline microbiota, paving the way to microbiota-based personalised nutrition.
Insights
Dietary emulsifiers like carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) can disrupt gut microbiota and cause inflammation. Researchers found that an individual's baseline gut microbiome can predict their sensitivity to CMC, enabling personalized nutrition approaches.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome research
- Gut health
- Personalized nutrition
Background:
- Non-absorbed dietary emulsifiers, such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), disrupt the intestinal microbiota.
- CMC can promote chronic intestinal inflammation in mice.
- A human study (FRESH) indicated CMC detrimentally impacts gut microbiota in some healthy individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for predicting individual sensitivity to dietary emulsifiers based on their baseline gut microbiota.
- To identify specific microbial signatures associated with emulsifier sensitivity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an in vitro microbiota model (MiniBioReactor Array, MBRA) to simulate and predict individual responses to CMC.
- Analyzed metagenomes to identify predictive microbial signatures of emulsifier sensitivity.
- Transplanted human microbiotas into germ-free mice to validate sensitivity predictions.
Main Results:
- The MBRA model successfully reproduced differential CMC sensitivity observed in human subjects.
- A baseline metagenomic signature was associated with CMC-induced microbiota perturbation.
- CMC-sensitive microbiotas, when transplanted, induced colitis in mice fed CMC, unlike insensitive ones.
Conclusions:
- Individual sensitivity to dietary emulsifiers is linked to their baseline gut microbiota composition.
- Baseline metagenomic analysis can predict an individual's response to emulsifiers.
- This research supports the development of microbiota-based personalized nutrition strategies.
