1.
Effects of galactooligosaccharides on maternal gut microbiota, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism and inflammation in pregnancy: A randomized controlled pilot study.
Wan, J, An, L, Ren, Z, Wang, S, Yang, H, Ma, J
Frontiers in endocrinology. 2023;14:1034266
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During pregnancy, a disordered gut microbiome and abnormal glucose metabolism may be possible mechanisms for pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Different from probiotics, galactooligosaccharides (GOS) is a prebiotic that is not digested and absorbed by the host, but can selectively promote the metabolism and proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the body, particularly Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of prebiotic intervention in healthy pregnant women, and conduct a preliminary exploration of the possible benefits for pregnant women. This study was a prospective double-blinded randomised clinical trial involving pregnant women. Participants were randomly assigned to the control group and the intervention group at a 1:1 ratio. Results showed that GOS intervention had no significant effect on reducing the incidence of GDM and improving glucose and lipid metabolism. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in glucose and lipid metabolism levels between GOS group and placebo group. Authors conclude that GOS can be considered as a dietary supplement during pregnancy. However, further clinical studies are needed to strengthen the findings of this study.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gut microbiota of pregnant women change with the gestational week. On the one hand, they participate in the metabolic adaptation of pregnant women. On the other hand, the abnormal composition of gut microbiota of pregnant women is more likely to suffer from gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Therefore, gut microbiota targeted treatment through dietary supplements is particularly important for prevention or treatment. Prebiotic supplements containing galactooligosaccharides (GOS) may be an intervention method, but the effect is still unclear. OBJECTIVE This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of prebiotic intervention in healthy pregnant women during pregnancy, and to explore the possible effects of intervention on pregnant women and the influence on gut microbiota as preliminaries. METHODS After recruitment in first trimester, 52 pregnant women were randomly assigned to receive GOS intervention or placebo containing fructooligosaccharides. 16S rRNA sequencing technology was used to detect the composition, diversity and differential flora of gut microbiota. Lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism and inflammatory factors during pregnancy were also analyzed. RESULTS The adverse symptoms of GOS intervention are mild and relatively safe. For pregnant women, there was no significant difference in the GDM incidence rates and gestational weight gain (GWG) in the GOS group compared with placebo (P > 0.05). Compared with the placebo group, the levels of FPG, TG, TC, HDL-C LDL-C, and IL-6 had no significant difference in GOS group (P > 0.05). For newborns, there was no significant difference between GOS group and placebo group in the following variables including gestational week, birth weight, birth length, head circumference, chest circumference, sex, and delivery mode (P > 0.05). And compared with the placebo group, the GOS group had a higher abundance of Paraprevotella and Dorea, but lower abundance of LachnospiraceaeUCG_001. CONCLUSIONS GOS prebiotics appear to be safe and acceptable for the enrolled pregnancies. Although GOS intervention did not show the robust benefits on glucose and lipid metabolism. However, the intervention had a certain impact on the compostion of gut microbiota. GOS can be considered as a dietary supplement during pregnancy, and further clinical studies are needed to explore this in the future.
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Effects of Synbiotic Supplement on Human Gut Microbiota, Body Composition and Weight Loss in Obesity.
Sergeev, IN, Aljutaily, T, Walton, G, Huarte, E
Nutrients. 2020;12(1)
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The gut microbiota plays a role in the development of obesity and associated diseases. Whilst energy-restricted, low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets can facilitate substantial weight-loss, they also have been linked to ill-effects and unfavourable changes in the gut microbiota from excess protein fermentation. Pro-and prebiotics (synbiotics) have become a promising intervention in the management of obesity. This small placebo-controlled clinical trial involved 20 obese adults following an energy-restricted (approx.950 kcal/day) low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. The study examined whether a supplementary synbiotic contributed to additional changes in body composition and metabolic biomarkers. The synbiotic contained Lactobacilli spp. and Bifidobacteria spp. and a prebiotic mixture of galactooligosaccharides. Overall, at the end of the 3-month trial, there was no remarkable difference between the groups. Both experienced a significant and decreasing trend in body mass, waist circumference, body mass index, fat mass, fat percentage, and glucose level, affirming the known benefits of the described weight-loss diet. However, the synbiotic supplementation group had a greater decrease in HbA1C and significant alterations in gut microbiota, showing an increased abundance of gut bacteria associated with positive health effects. Due to the complexity of microbial species and host interactions, the authors advocate for more research to identify their significance and shed light on contradictory findings. This study identified that synbiotics may not contribute to additional changes in body composition when combined with an energy-restricted, low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet but they can offer additional health benefits by inducing favourable changes to the gut microbiota.
Abstract
Targeting gut microbiota with synbiotics (probiotic supplements containing prebiotic components) is emerging as a promising intervention in the comprehensive nutritional approach to reducing obesity. Weight loss resulting from low-carbohydrate high-protein diets can be significant but has also been linked to potentially negative health effects due to increased bacterial fermentation of undigested protein within the colon and subsequent changes in gut microbiota composition. Correcting obesity-induced disruption of gut microbiota with synbiotics can be more effective than supplementation with probiotics alone because prebiotic components of synbiotics support the growth and survival of positive bacteria therein. The purpose of this placebo-controlled intervention clinical trial was to evaluate the effects of a synbiotic supplement on the composition, richness and diversity of gut microbiota and associations of microbial species with body composition parameters and biomarkers of obesity in human subjects participating in a weight loss program. The probiotic component of the synbiotic used in the study contained Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium bifidum and the prebiotic component was a galactooligosaccharide mixture. The results showed no statistically significant differences in body composition (body mass, BMI, body fat mass, body fat percentage, body lean mass, and bone mineral content) between the placebo and synbiotic groups at the end of the clinical trial (3-month intervention, 20 human subjects participating in weight loss intervention based on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, reduced energy diet). Synbiotic supplementation increased the abundance of gut bacteria associated with positive health effects, especially Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, and it also appeared to increase the gut microbiota richness. A decreasing trend in the gut microbiota diversity in the placebo and synbiotic groups was observed at the end of trial, which may imply the effect of the high-protein low-carbohydrate diet used in the weight loss program. Regression analysis performed to correlate abundance of species following supplementation with body composition parameters and biomarkers of obesity found an association between a decrease over time in blood glucose and an increase in Lactobacillus abundance, particularly in the synbiotic group. However, the decrease over time in body mass, BMI, waist circumstance, and body fat mass was associated with a decrease in Bifidobacterium abundance. The results obtained support the conclusion that synbiotic supplement used in this clinical trial modulates human gut microbiota by increasing abundance of potentially beneficial microbial species.