Microbiota-Focused Dietary Approaches to Support Health: A Systematic Review.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review of 17 randomized controlled trials
PubMed 39486521 · doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.10.043
What was done
A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the impact of dietary interventions designed to nourish intestinal bacteria, alter microbial metabolite concentrations, and support gastrointestinal, metabolic, and cognitive health in healthy adults. The authors identified and synthesized data from 17 randomized controlled trials evaluating dietary fibers, phytonutrients, or unsaturated fatty acids.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values or effect sizes. Across 17 randomized controlled trials, dietary interventions providing dietary fibers, phytonutrients, or unsaturated fatty acids differentially enriched Akkermansia, Bacteroides, Clostridium, Eubacterium, Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Ruminococcus species, with variable impacts on microbial metabolite concentrations and physiological markers of gastrointestinal and metabolic health.
Why it matters
This review synthesizes clinical trial evidence showing that dietary strategies beyond traditional prebiotics can enrich specific non-traditional commensal bacteria in healthy adults, informing target selection for next-generation biotics.
Limits
The abstract does not report quantitative effect sizes, pooled estimates, or total participant sample sizes across the 17 included trials. The findings are limited to healthy adults, and downstream effects on microbial metabolites and host physiological markers were variable across trials.
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