Effects of dietary fibre and protein content on intestinal fibre degradation, short-chain fatty acid and microbiota composition in a high-fat fructose-rich diet induced obese Göttingen Minipig model

Food Funct. 2020 Dec 1;11(12):10758-10773. doi: 10.1039/d0fo02252g. Epub 2020 Nov 24.

Abstract

Obesity-related metabolic syndrome has been linked with gut microbiome dysbiosis while dietary fibre (DF) and protein can modify the gut microbial ecosystem and metabolism. After 20-weeks of high-fat fructose-rich diet feeding for the development of obesity, forty-three 30-week old Göttingen Minipigs (31 ± 4.0 kg body weight) were allocated to one of the four diets with low or high DF and protein contents in a two by two factorial design and digesta were collected from the intestinal segments of minipigs after 8 weeks at libitum feeding. High DF content increased (P < 0.001) while high protein content decreased (P = 0.004) the content of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) in all intestinal segments. Arabinoxylan (AX) as proportion of NSP was higher with high DF (P < 0.001) but decreased from the distal small intestine to the mid colon (P < 0.001). High DF increased the relative abundance of Blautia, Faecalibacterium and Peptococcus in the caecum, the mid colon and faeces, reduced the intestinal concentrations of total short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) (P = 0.020) and acetate (P = 0.011) but slightly increased butyrate pools in the large intestine (P≤ 0.050) compared to low DF. High protein increased the SCFA (P = 0.026) and propionate (P = 0.044) concentrations in the gut. High DF induced a lower increase in the BCFA concentration and proportion throughout the colon (P < 0.001). The butyrate concentrations in plasma from the jugular vein were increased with high DF diets (P = 0.031), whereas the propionate concentrations were increased (P < 0.001) and succinate were decreased (P = 0.001) with high protein diets compared with low protein diets. In conclusion, AX in the high DF diets was continuously degraded up to the mid-colon, associated with enriched butyrate-producing bacteria and slightly improved butyrate production, while protein fermentation was attenuated by high DF and high protein did not show prebiotic effects in this obese minipig model.

MeSH terms

  • Animal Feed
  • Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
  • Animals
  • Body Weight
  • Colon / metabolism
  • Diet
  • Diet, High-Fat / adverse effects*
  • Dietary Carbohydrates / adverse effects*
  • Dietary Fiber / administration & dosage*
  • Dietary Proteins / administration & dosage*
  • Fatty Acids, Volatile / metabolism*
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Fermentation
  • Fructose
  • Intestine, Large / metabolism
  • Male
  • Microbiota / drug effects*
  • Obesity / metabolism*
  • Swine
  • Swine, Miniature
  • Xylans / metabolism

Substances

  • Dietary Carbohydrates
  • Dietary Fiber
  • Dietary Proteins
  • Fatty Acids, Volatile
  • Xylans
  • Fructose
  • arabinoxylan