PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Doris Vandeputte
AU  - Gwen Falony
AU  - Sara Vieira-Silva
AU  - Jun Wang
AU  - Manuela Sailer
AU  - Stephan Theis
AU  - Kristin Verbeke
AU  - Jeroen Raes
TI  - Prebiotic inulin-type fructans induce specific changes in the human gut microbiota
AID  - 10.1136/gutjnl-2016-313271
DP  - 2017 Nov 01
TA  - Gut
PG  - 1968--1974
VI  - 66
IP  - 11
4099  - http://gut.bmj.com/content/66/11/1968.short
4100  - http://gut.bmj.com/content/66/11/1968.full
SO  - Gut2017 Nov 01; 66
AB  - Objective Contrary to the long-standing prerequisite of inducing selective (ie, bifidogenic) effects, recent findings suggest that prebiotic interventions lead to ecosystem-wide microbiota shifts. Yet, a comprehensive characterisation of this process is still lacking. Here, we apply 16S rDNA microbiota profiling and matching (gas chromatography mass spectrometry) metabolomics to assess the consequences of inulin fermentation both on the composition of the colon bacterial ecosystem and faecal metabolites profiles.Design Faecal samples collected during a double-blind, randomised, cross-over intervention study set up to assess the effect of inulin consumption on stool frequency in healthy adults with mild constipation were analysed. Faecal microbiota composition and metabolite profiles were linked to the study's clinical outcome as well as to quality-of-life measurements recorded.Results While faecal metabolite profiles were not significantly altered by inulin consumption, our analyses did detect a modest effect on global microbiota composition and specific inulin-induced changes in relative abundances of Anaerostipes, Bilophila and Bifidobacterium were identified. The observed decrease in Bilophila abundances following inulin consumption was associated with both softer stools and a favourable change in constipation-specific quality-of-life measures.Conclusions Ecosystem-wide analysis of the effect of a dietary intervention with prebiotic inulin-type fructans on the colon microbiota revealed that this effect is specifically associated with three genera, one of which (Bilophila) representing a promising novel target for mechanistic research.Trial registration number NCT02548247.