First report of gut bacterial dataset of a tribal Bhutia family from West Bengal, India.

The tribes of West Bengal are distributed in geographically distinct regions with distinctive features of their habitats and many of these tribes still practice a traditional livelihood avoiding the western diet. Hence, it is expected that their gut should remain pristine. In this study, we report the gut bacterial abundance of a Drukpa Bhutia tribal family of Lepchakha, inhabiting the hilly terrain of the Buxa region of Alipurduar district. First fecal matter was collected followed by Illumina Hiseq sequencing. Following standard protocols for metagenomic analysis, quality control (FASTQC), taxonomic profiling (QIIME, KRONA) and pathogenic load analysis were performed. This study revealed a set of core gut bacteria among which Bacteroides was identified to be the most abundant followed by Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus etc. Genera exhibiting lowest abundance were Eggerthella, Ruminococcus, Enterococcus etc. among the male, kid and female respectively. This data provides important insights into the distribution of bacterial members under study.

Dietary Intake and Nutritional Status of the adult Kheria Sabar males of West Bengal, India.

Kheria Sabars are an indigenous community living in the rural areas of Purulia, West Bengal, India. This work aims to study dietary intake and its relation to nutritional status among adult Kheria Sabar males aged 18-60. The study entails the recording of anthropometric variables like height (cm) and weight (kg) as per the standard protocol and calculating body mass index (BMI). Dietary intake was recorded on the basis of the 24-h dietary recall method. The intake of different nutrients was computed and compared with the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for Indians by the Indian Council of Medical Research Expert Committee. Results revealed a paradox where undernutrition was prevalent (44.28%) despite balanced nutrient intake. This paradox creates scope for further exploratory research among other communities living in similar habitats.

Gut microbial dataset of a foraging tribe from rural West Bengal - insights into unadulterated and transitional microbial abundance.

The human gut microbiome contributes to a broad range of biochemical and metabolic functions that directly or indirectly affect human system. Numerous factors such as age, geographical location, genetic makeup, and individual health status significantly influence the diversity, stability, and relative abundance of the gut microbiome. Of the mentioned factors, geographical location and dietary practices appears to explain a significant portion of microbiome variation. On the other hand tribal people living in geographically isolated areas and dependent on their traditional food sources are considered as having relatively unadulterated gut as their guts are least colonized by Western diet. The Western diet - low in fiber and high in refined sugars - is basically wiping out species of bacteria from our intestines. That's the conclusion Smits (2017) and his team reached after analyzing the Hadza microbiome at one stage of their year long study. The trend was clear: The further away people's diets are from a Western diet, the greater the variety of microbes they tend to have in their guts. And that includes bacteria that are missing from American guts."So whether it's people in Africa, Papua New Guinea or South America, communities that live a traditional lifestyle have common gut microbes - ones that we all lack in the industrialized world. In this work we present a pilot study data of the gut microbiome of an ethnic tribe of West Bengal, India, originating from Dravidian descent - the Savars. These are nomadic tribes and are still dependent on hunting and gathering for their livelihood. We identified a healthy family and have analysed their stool samples for gut microbial profiles.