TY - JOUR
T1 - Potential of Pectins to Beneficially Modulate the Gut Microbiota Depends on Their Structural Properties
AU - Larsen, Nadja
AU - de Souza, Carlota Bussolo
AU - Krych, Lukasz
AU - Cahu, Thiago Barbosa
AU - Wiese, Maria
AU - Kot, Witold
AU - Hansen, Karin Meyer
AU - Blennow, Andreas
AU - Venema, Koen
AU - Jespersen, Lene
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Danish Council for Strategic Research (DSR, Project BioSyn, No. 3050-00005B) within the frame of the project “Strategic Research Collaboration in Food Science in the State of São Paulo, Brazil and Denmark” and supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq-Brazil), the Program “Science without Borders.” From the CNPq-Brazil CBS received a scholarship 246027/2012-6, and TC – scholarship 233521/2014-3. This research has additionally been supported by the Dutch Province of Limburg.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2007 - 2019 Frontiers Media S.A. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2019/2/15
Y1 - 2019/2/15
N2 - Pectins are plant cell-wall polysaccharides which can be utilized by commensal bacteria in the gut, exhibiting beneficial properties for the host. Knowledge of the impact of pectins on intestinal bacterial communities is insufficient and limited to a few types of pectins. This study characterized the relationship between the structural properties of pectins and their potential to modulate composition and activity of the gut microbiota in a beneficial way. For this purpose we performed in vitro fermentations of nine structurally diverse pectins from citrus fruits and sugar beet, and a pectic derivative, rhamnogalacturonan I (RGI), using a TIM-2 colon model. The composition of microbiota during TIM-2 fermentations was assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Both general and pectin-specific changes were observed in relative abundances of numerous bacterial taxa in a time-dependent way. Bacterial populations associated with human health, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Coprococcus, Ruminococcus, Dorea, Blautia, Oscillospira, Sutterella, Bifidobacterium, Christensenellaceae, Prevotella copri, and Bacteroides spp. were either increased or decreased depending on the substrate, suggesting that these bacteria can be controlled using structurally different pectins. The main structural features linked to the pectin-mediated shifts in microbiota included degree of esterification, composition of neutral sugars, distribution of homogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan fractions, degree of branching, and the presence of amide groups. Cumulative production of the total short chain fatty acids and propionate was largest in fermentations of the high methoxyl pectins. Thus, this study indicates that microbial communities in the gut can be specifically modulated by pectins and identifies the features in pectin molecules linked to microbial alterations. This knowledge can be used to define preferred dietary pectins, targeting beneficial bacteria, and favoring more balanced microbiota communities in the gut.
AB - Pectins are plant cell-wall polysaccharides which can be utilized by commensal bacteria in the gut, exhibiting beneficial properties for the host. Knowledge of the impact of pectins on intestinal bacterial communities is insufficient and limited to a few types of pectins. This study characterized the relationship between the structural properties of pectins and their potential to modulate composition and activity of the gut microbiota in a beneficial way. For this purpose we performed in vitro fermentations of nine structurally diverse pectins from citrus fruits and sugar beet, and a pectic derivative, rhamnogalacturonan I (RGI), using a TIM-2 colon model. The composition of microbiota during TIM-2 fermentations was assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Both general and pectin-specific changes were observed in relative abundances of numerous bacterial taxa in a time-dependent way. Bacterial populations associated with human health, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Coprococcus, Ruminococcus, Dorea, Blautia, Oscillospira, Sutterella, Bifidobacterium, Christensenellaceae, Prevotella copri, and Bacteroides spp. were either increased or decreased depending on the substrate, suggesting that these bacteria can be controlled using structurally different pectins. The main structural features linked to the pectin-mediated shifts in microbiota included degree of esterification, composition of neutral sugars, distribution of homogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan fractions, degree of branching, and the presence of amide groups. Cumulative production of the total short chain fatty acids and propionate was largest in fermentations of the high methoxyl pectins. Thus, this study indicates that microbial communities in the gut can be specifically modulated by pectins and identifies the features in pectin molecules linked to microbial alterations. This knowledge can be used to define preferred dietary pectins, targeting beneficial bacteria, and favoring more balanced microbiota communities in the gut.
KW - gut microbiota
KW - pectins
KW - structure-function relationship
KW - TIM-2 colon model
KW - short-chain fatty acids
KW - IN-VITRO FERMENTABILITY
KW - SUGAR-BEET PULP
KW - PREBIOTIC PROPERTIES
KW - FECAL MICROBIOTA
KW - ORANGE PEEL
KW - WEIGHT-LOSS
KW - OLIGOSACCHARIDES
KW - FERMENTATION
KW - DEGRADATION
KW - BACTERIA
U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00223
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00223
M3 - Article
C2 - 30828323
SN - 1664-302X
VL - 10
SP - 1
EP - 13
JO - Frontiers in microbiology
JF - Frontiers in microbiology
IS - FEB
M1 - 223
ER -