Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Investigation of the Impact of Probiotic Consumption on Gut Microbiota Diversity and the Faecal Metabolome in Seniors.

Aging has been associated with a changed composition and function of the gut microbiota (GM). Here, we investigate the effects of the multi-strain probiotic HOWARU® Restore on GM composition and function in seniors. Ninety-eight healthy adult volunteers aged ≥75 years were enrolled in a randomised, double-blinded intervention (NCT02207140), where they received HOWARU Restore (1010 CFU) or the placebo daily for 24 weeks, with 45 volunteers from each group completing the intervention. Questionnaires monitoring the effects on gastro-intestinal discomfort and bowel movements were collected. Faecal samples for GM characterisation (qPCR, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing) and metabolomics (GC-FID, 1H NMR) were collected at the baseline and after 24 weeks. In the probiotic group, self-reported gastro-intestinal discomfort in the form of flatulence was significantly decreased during the intervention. At the baseline, 151 'core species' (present in ≥95% of samples) were identified. Most core species belonged to the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families. Neither alpha diversity nor beta diversity or faecal metabolites was affected by probiotic intake. On the contrary, we observed high intra-individual GM stability, with 'individual' accounting for 72-75% of variation. In conclusion, 24 weeks of HOWARU Restore intake reduced gastro-intestinal discomfort in the form of flatulence in healthy seniors without significantly influencing GM composition or activity.

An Integrated Multi-Omics Analysis Defines Key Pathway Alterations in a Diet-Induced Obesity Mouse Model.

Obesity is a multifactorial disease with many complications and related diseases and has become a global epidemic. To thoroughly understand the impact of obesity on whole organism homeostasis, it is helpful to utilize a systems biological approach combining gene expression and metabolomics across tissues and biofluids together with metagenomics of gut microbial diversity. Here, we present a multi-omics study on liver, muscle, adipose tissue, urine, plasma, and feces on mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Gene expression analyses showed alterations in genes related to lipid and energy metabolism and inflammation in liver and adipose tissue. The integration of metabolomics data across tissues and biofluids identified major differences in liver TCA cycle, where malate, succinate and oxaloacetate were found to be increased in HFD mice. This finding was supported by gene expression analysis of TCA-related enzymes in liver, where expression of malate dehydrogenase was found to be decreased. Investigations of the microbiome showed enrichment of Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Streptococcaceae and Lactobacillaceae in the HFD group. Our findings help elucidate how the whole organism metabolome and transcriptome are integrated and regulated during obesity.

Cold deacclimation mechanisms and reacclimation potential in flower buds of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum).

As a consequence of global climate change, cold acclimation and deacclimation cycles are becoming increasingly frequent during winter in temperate regions. However, little is known about plant deacclimation and in particular reacclimation mechanisms, although deacclimation resistance and the ability to reacclimate may have wide-ranging consequences regarding plant productivity in a changing climate. Here, we report time-dependent responses of freezing tolerance, respiration rates, metabolite contents (high-resolution magic angle spinning NMR) and fatty acid levels (gas chromatography) in flower buds of two ecodormant Ribes nigrum cultivars exposed to three different deacclimation temperatures followed by a reacclimation treatment at 4°C. The data reveal that despite differences in the progression of deacclimation, the capacity of blackcurrant flower buds to reharden in late winter is virtually non-existing, implying that increasingly irregular temperature patterns is critical for blackcurrant fruit yield. The early phase of deacclimation is associated with a transient increase in respiration and decreasing contents of amino acids, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates and sugars, indicating an increased need for carbon sources and respiratory energy production for the activation of growth. Decreasing sugar levels may additionally cause loss of freezing tolerance. Deacclimation also involves desaturation of membrane lipids, which likely also contributes to decreased freezing tolerance but may also reflect biosynthesis of signaling molecules stimulating growth and floral organ differentiation. These data provide new insights into the under-researched deacclimation mechanisms and the ability of blackcurrant to reacclimate following different advancements of deacclimation and contribute to our understanding of plant responses to increasingly irregular temperature patterns.

Metabolic Fate of 13C-Labeled Polydextrose and Impact on the Gut Microbiome: A Triple-Phase Study in a Colon Simulator.

The present study introduces a novel triple-phase (liquids, solids, and gases) approach, which employed uniformly labeled [U-13C] polydextrose (PDX) for the selective profiling of metabolites generated from dietary fiber fermentation in an in vitro colon simulator using human fecal inocula. Employing 13C NMR spectroscopy, [U-13C] PDX metabolism was observed from colonic digest samples. The major 13C-labeled metabolites generated were acetate, butyrate, propionate, and valerate. In addition to these short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), 13C-labeled lactate, formate, succinate, and ethanol were detected in the colon simulator samples. Metabolite formation and PDX substrate degradation were examined comprehensively over time (24 and 48 h). Correlation analysis between 13C NMR spectra and gas production confirmed the anaerobic fermentation of PDX to SCFAs. In addition, 16S rRNA gene analysis showed that the level of Erysipelotrichaceae was influenced by PDX supplementation and Erysipelotrichaceae level was statistically correlated with SCFA formation. Overall, our study demonstrates a novel approach to link substrate fermentation and microbial function directly in a simulated colonic environment.

Impact of red meat consumption on the metabolome of rats.

SCOPE: The scope of the present study was to investigate the effects of red versus white meat intake on the metabolome of rats. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to 15 days of ad libitum feeding of one of four experimental diets: (i) lean chicken, (ii) chicken with lard, (iii) lean beef, and (iv) beef with lard. Urine, feces, plasma, and colon tissue samples were analyzed using 1 H NMR-based metabolomics and real-time PCR was performed on colon tissue to examine the expression of specific genes. Urinary excretion of acetate and anserine was higher after chicken intake, while carnosine, fumarate, and trimethylamine N-oxide excretion were higher after beef intake. In colon tissue, higher choline levels and lower lipid levels were found after intake of chicken compared to beef. Expression of the apc gene was higher in response to the lean chicken and beef with lard diets. Correlation analysis revealed that intestinal apc gene expression was correlated with fecal lactate content (R2 = 0.65). CONCLUSION: This study is the first to identify specific differences in the metabolome related to the intake of red and white meat. These differences may reflect perturbations in endogenous metabolism that can be linked to the proposed harmful effects associated with intake of red meat.

Metabolic Effects of a 24-Week Energy-Restricted Intervention Combined with Low or High Dairy Intake in Overweight Women: An NMR-Based Metabolomics Investigation.

We investigated the effect of a 24-week energy-restricted intervention with low or high dairy intake (LD or HD) on the metabolic profiles of urine, blood and feces in overweight/obese women by NMR spectroscopy combined with ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis (ASCA). A significant effect of dairy intake was found on the urine metabolome. HD intake increased urinary citrate, creatinine and urea excretion, and decreased urinary excretion of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and hippurate relative to the LD intake, suggesting that HD intake was associated with alterations in protein catabolism, energy metabolism and gut microbial activity. In addition, a significant time effect on the blood metabolome was attributed to a decrease in blood lipid and lipoprotein levels due to the energy restriction. For the fecal metabolome, a trend for a diet effect was found and a series of metabolites, such as acetate, butyrate, propionate, malonate, cholesterol and glycerol tended to be affected. Overall, even though these effects were not accompanied by a higher weight loss, the present metabolomics data reveal that a high dairy intake is associated with endogenous metabolic effects and effects on gut microbial activity that potentially impact body weight regulation and health. Moreover, ASCA has a great potential for exploring the effect of intervention factors and identifying altered metabolites in a multi-factorial metabolomic study.

Strategy for Nuclear-Magnetic-Resonance-Based Metabolomics of Human Feces.

Metabolomic analyses of fecal material are gaining increasing attention because the gut microbial ecology and activity have an impact on the human phenotype and regulate host metabolism. Sample preparation is a crucial step, and in this study, we recommend a methodology for extraction and analysis of fresh feces by NMR-based metabolomics. The evaluation of extraction solvents showed that buffer extraction is a suitable approach to extract metabolic information in feces. Therefore, the effects of weight-to-buffer (Wf:Vb) combinations and the effect of sonication and freeze-thaw cycles on the reproducibility, chemical shift variability, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the (1)H NMR spectra were evaluated. On the basis of our results, we suggest that fresh fecal extraction with a Wf:Vb ratio of 1:2 may be the optimum choice to determine the overall metabolite composition of feces. In fact, more than 60 metabolites have been assigned in the NMR spectra obtained from the fresh fecal buffer extract, and assignments of the lipophilic signals are also presented. To our knowledge, some of the metabolites are reported here for the very first time employing (1)H NMR spectroscopy on human fecal extracts.

Metabolomics investigation to shed light on cheese as a possible piece in the French paradox puzzle.

An NMR-based metabolomics approach was used to investigate the differentiation between subjects consuming cheese or milk and to elucidate the potential link to an effect on blood cholesterol level. Fifteen healthy young men participated in a full crossover study during which they consumed three isocaloric diets with similar fat contents that were either (i) high in milk, (ii) high in cheese with equal amounts of dairy calcium, or (iii) a control diet for 14 days. Urine and feces samples were collected and analyzed by NMR-based metabolomics. Cheese and milk consumption decreased urinary choline and TMAO levels and increased fecal excretion of acetate, propionate, and lipid. Compared with milk intake, cheese consumption significantly reduced urinary citrate, creatine, and creatinine levels and significantly increased the microbiota-related metabolites butyrate, hippurate, and malonate. Correlation analyses indicated that microbial and lipid metabolism could be involved in the dairy-induced effects on blood cholesterol level.

Intake of hydrolyzed casein is associated with reduced body fat accretion and enhanced phase II metabolism in obesity prone C57BL/6J mice.

The amount and form of dietary casein have been shown to affect energy metabolism and lipid accumulation in mice, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We investigated 48 hrs urinary metabolome, hepatic lipid composition and gene expression in male C57BL/6J mice fed Western diets with 16 or 32 energy% protein in the form of extensively hydrolyzed or intact casein. LC-MS based metabolomics revealed a very strong impact of casein form on the urinary metabolome. Evaluation of the discriminatory metabolites using tandem mass spectrometry indicated that intake of extensively hydrolyzed casein modulated Phase II metabolism associated with an elevated urinary excretion of glucuronic acid- and sulphate conjugated molecules, whereas glycine conjugated molecules were more abundant in urine from mice fed the intact casein diets. Despite the differences in the urinary metabolome, we observed no differences in hepatic expression of genes involved in Phase II metabolism, but it was observed that expression of Abcc3 encoding ATP binding cassette c3 (transporter of glucuronic acid conjugates) was increased in livers of mice fed hydrolyzed casein. As glucuronic acid is derived from glucose and sulphate is derived from cysteine, our metabolomic data provided evidence for changes in carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism and we propose that this modulation of metabolism was associated with the reduced glucose and lipid levels observed in mice fed the extensively hydrolyzed casein diets.

Impact of dietary polydextrose fiber on the human gut metabolome.

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the impact of polydextrose PDX an soluble fiber, on the human fecal metabolome by high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy-based metabolomics in a dietary intervention study (n = 12). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a strong effect of PDX consumption on the fecal metabolome, which could be mainly ascribed to the presence of undigested fiber and oligosaccharides formed from partial degradation of PDX. Our results demonstrate that NMR-based metabolomics is a useful technique for metabolite profiling of feces and for testing compliance to dietary fiber intake in such trials. In addition, novel associations between PDX and the levels of the fecal metabolites acetate and propionate could be identified. The establishment of a correlation between the fecal metabolome and levels of Bifidobacterium (R(2) = 0.66) and Bacteroides (R(2) = 0.46) demonstrates the potential of NMR-based metabolomics to elucidate metabolic activity of bacteria in the gut.

NMR-based metabolomic profiling of overweight adolescents: an elucidation of the effects of inter-/intraindividual differences, gender, and pubertal development.

The plasma and urine metabolome of 192 overweight 12-15-year-old adolescents (BMI of 25.4 ± 2.3 kg/m(2)) were examined in order to elucidate gender, pubertal development measured as Tanner stage, physical activity measured as number of steps taken daily, and intra-/interindividual differences affecting the metabolome detected by proton NMR spectroscopy. Higher urinary excretion of citrate, creatinine, hippurate, and phenylacetylglutamine and higher plasma level of phosphatidylcholine and unsaturated lipid were found for girls compared with boys. The results suggest that gender differences in the metabolome are being commenced already in childhood. The relationship between Tanner stage and the metabolome showed that pubertal development stage was positively related to urinary creatinine excretion and negatively related to urinary citrate content. No relations between physical activity and the metabolome could be identified. The present study for the first time provides comprehensive information about associations between the metabolome and gender, pubertal development, and physical activity in overweight adolescents, which is an important subject group to approach in the prevention of obesity and life-style related diseases. While this study is preliminary, these results may have the potential to translate into clinical applicability upon further investigations; if biomarkers for Tanner stage can be established, these might be used for identification of individuals susceptible to an early pubertal development.

Urinary loss of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates as revealed by metabolomics studies: an underlying mechanism to reduce lipid accretion by whey protein ingestion?

Whey protein intake is associated with the modulation of energy metabolism and altered body composition both in human subjects and in animals, but the underlying mechanisms are not yet elucidated. We fed obesity-prone C57BL/6J mice high-fat diets with either casein (HF casein) or whey (HF whey) for 6 weeks. At equal energy intake and apparent fat and nitrogen digestibility, mice fed HF whey stored less energy as lipids, evident both as lower white adipose tissue mass and as reduced liver lipids, compared with HF-casein-fed mice. Explorative analyses of 48 h urine, both by (1)H NMR and LC-MS metabolomic platforms, demonstrated higher urinary excretion of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates citric acid and succinic acid (identified by both platforms), and cis-aconitic acid and isocitric acid (identified by LC-MS platform) in the HF whey, relative to in the HF-casein-fed mice. Targeted LC-MS analyses revealed higher citric acid and cis-aconitic acid concentrations in fed state plasma, but not in liver of HF-whey-fed mice. We propose that enhanced urinary loss of TCA cycle metabolites drain available substrates for anabolic processes, such as lipogenesis, thereby leading to reduced lipid accretion in HF-whey-fed compared to HF-casein-fed mice.