Investigating the impact of whole foods on the gut is a difficult endeavour in the laboratory, due to limits in simulation technologies. In this study, the SIFR^® technology was implemented for the investigation of such enriched cookies and muffins. A very important first step consisted in the digestion and absorption of digestible nutrients like simple sugars and proteins. Afterwards, the products were fermented in the colonic simulation. Using this approach, we established a link between specific ingredients present in the complex foods and product-specific modulation of the gut microbiome, which lead to the production of health-related metabolites. This study underlines the importance of physiologically relevant digestion and absorption procedures, in order to accurately assess microbiome-mediated product effects of complex food matrices.

Following the upper gastrointestinal digestion, we evaluated the effect of 3 different whole food products, on the gut microbiome of 4 healthy human adults. Erythritol and black chia seeds enhanced butyrate production through Anaerobutyricum hallii, and products containing these functional ingredients reduced levels of C. difficile. Meanwhile, oats resulted in enhanced propionate production via Bacteroidaceae and Tannerellaceae.

All whole food products enhanced the production of several microbiome-mediated metabolites, that have shown to impact gut health (vitamin B3/B6), the gut-brain axis (GABA and vitamin B3/B6), cardiometabolic health (indole-3-propionic acid) as well as immunity and muscle strength (essential amino acids).

Full article: Deyaert et al, 2024, Metabolites