Comparative effectiveness of indigestible carbohydrates and plant polyphenols on the gut microbiota profile and metabolite alterations of obese patients

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the effects of indigestible carbohydrates and plant polyphenols on the alteration of gut microbiota and their metabolites in obese patients. The results showed that resistant starch type II had the highest diversity index, while banana inflorescence powder had the lowest diversity index of the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota profile exhibited that palm oil residue increased the abundance of Bacteroidetes from 23% to 44% and decreased the abundance of Firmicutes from 63% to 21%. This led to the lowest Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio of 0.5, followed by gnetum leaf powder (1.1), dragon fruit oligosaccharide (1.2), banana inflorescence powder (1.2), and resistance starch type II (1.6) compared to the initial fecal sample (F/B) ratio of 2.7. The isomaltooligosaccharide had an F/B ratio of 9.4. Palm oil residue could reduce the relative abundance of nucleotide biosynthesis, amino acid biosynthesis, aromatic compound synthesis, and peptidoglycan biosynthesis, all of which are related to obesity metabolic pathways. The short-chain fatty acids analysis showed that gnetum leaf powder and isomaltooligosaccharide exhibited the highest production of acetic acid (19.37 mM) and butyric acid (11.27 mM). Palm oil residue and gnetum leaf powder significantly impacted propionic acid production (10.93 and 10.08 mM, respectively). In the gut microbiota of obese humans, 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid derived from phenolic metabolites was detected during the fermentation of palm oil residue. In summary, our study demonstrated that plant polyphenols are more effective than indigestible carbohydrates, suggesting a novel alternative approach for the treatment of obesity.