Weight, habitual fibre intake, and microbiome composition predict tolerance to fructan supplementation

• Published in: International journal of food sciences and nutrition Vol. 75; no. 6; p. 571
• Main Authors: Letourneau, Jeffrey, Neubert, Benjamin C, Dayal, Diana, Carrion, Verónica M, Durand, Heather K, Dallow, Eric P, Jiang, Sharon, Kirtley, Michelle, Ginsburg, Geoffrey S, Doraiswamy, P Murali, David, Lawrence A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-09-2024
• Subjects: Adult; Body Weight; Dietary Fiber - pharmacology; Dietary Supplements; Female; Flatulence; Fructans - pharmacology; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - drug effects; Humans; Inulin - pharmacology; Male; Middle Aged; Young Adult; inulin; dietary fibre; gastroenterology; bioinformatics; Microbiome
• ISSN: 1465-3478
• DOI: 10.1080/09637486.2024.2372590

Fructans are commonly used as dietary fibre supplements for their ability to promote the growth of beneficial gut microbes. However, fructan consumption has been associated with various dosage-dependent side effects. We characterised side effects in an exploratory analysis of a randomised trial in healthy adults (
 = 40) who consumed 18 g/day inulin or placebo. We found that individuals weighing more or habitually consuming higher fibre exhibited the best tolerance. Furthermore, we identified associations between gut microbiome composition and host tolerance. Specifically, higher levels of
were associated with gastrointestinal discomfort, and a machine-learning-based approach successfully predicted high levels of flatulence, with
and (
)
identified as key predictive taxa. These data reveal trends that can help guide personalised recommendations for initial inulin dosage. Our results support prior ecological findings indicating that fibre supplementation has the greatest impact on individuals whose baseline fibre intake is lowest.