Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Flavonoids are a class of chemical compounds that are present in a variety of plant foods and are widely accepted to have health benefits, including reducing risk of cardiovascular disease. However, there are differences in how individual people respond to consuming dietary flavonoids, which current science is unable to fully explain. It is possible that differences in the types or activities of bacteria in the gut may influence how flavonoids are absorbed into the bloodstream, and therefore may explain the different health benefits experienced by people after eating them.This study seeks to explain part of this variation. People with two distinct patterns of a gut bacteria activity will be fed a diet that is controlled in catechins (a specific type of flavonoid) by providing a controlled amount of apple juice. Apples are a commonly consumed source of catechins in the American diet. Study participants' urine will be monitored to determine whether individuals are absorbing different forms of catechins as a result of gut bacteria actions, and their feces will be monitored to determine any relationship with specific bacteria that are present in the gut.If successful, the project will identify an easily accessible urinary biomarker capable of predicting who will have different responses to consuming dietary flavonoids. This result could then be explored in further studies to determine if it predicts cardiovascular health benefits of the catechins and other flavonoids. Ultimately, this work could lead to designing targeted diets for individuals based on a combination of biomarker status and disease risk.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to evaluate the potential for O-desmethylangolensin (ODMA) to serve as a biomarker of gut microbial metabolic functionality for cleavage of the flavonoid C-ring. The project will achieve this through the following objectives:Identify a group of 15 ODMA non-producers and 15 ODMA producers, matched on personal characteristics.Quantify differences in urinary microbial catechin metabolite excretion across individuals based on ODMA metabotype.Characterize microbiome components associated with catechin metabolism and changes in gut microbiome associated with a high-catechin diet.
Project Methods
Efforts:The project will recruit 300 adult participants and screen them for having a gut microbial community capable of producing ODMA from daidzein by feeding them a soy food snack (source of dietary daidzein) for 3 days, followed by measuring ODMA in their urine. Participants will also complete surveys on their usual dietary habits and general health information. Fifteen participants who do not have ODMA in their urine (ODMA non-producers) will be recruited to participate in a subsequent randomized block crossover design clinical trial, along with 15 age- and gender-matched participants who do have ODMA in their urine (ODMA producers). During the clinical trial, the participants will be asked to consume a controlled diet for two 3-day phases separated by a 10-day wash out period, which will consist of a low-catechin control phase and an apple juice phase that provides a known moderate amount of catechins per day. The order of the phases will be randomized within blocks of ODMA producers and non-producers. Urine and fecal samples will be collected before and after each phase, and additional data on dietary intake will be collected in the time period leading up to and during each phase. Urine samples will be analyzed for microbial metabolites of catechins, and fecal samples will undergo metagenomic analysis.Evaluation:Statistical analyses will be conducted to: 1) compare microbial catechin metabolite levels in ODMA non-producers vs. ODMA producers to quantifying differences in microbial catechin metabolite production in ODMA producers vs. non-producers; 2) compare community composition of the gut microbiome associated with microbial metabolite production to identify gut microbial characteristics associated with microbial catechin metabolite production. Further analysis will explore the impact of catechin ingestion on gut microbial composition and differences in gut microbiome characteristics associated with ODMA non-producers vs. ODMA producers.