In Vitro Fermentation Shows Polyphenol and Fiber Blends Have an Additive Beneficial Effect on Gut Microbiota States.

Polyphenols and fermentable fibers have shown favorable effects on gut microbiota composition and metabolic function. However, few studies have investigated whether combining multiple fermentable fibers or polyphenols may have additive beneficial effects on gut microbial states. Here, an in vitro fermentation model, seeded with human stool combined from 30 healthy volunteers, was supplemented with blends of polyphenols (PP), dietary fibers (FB), or their combination (PPFB) to determine influence on gut bacteria growth dynamics and select metabolite changes. PP and FB blends independently led to significant increases in the absolute abundance of select beneficial taxa, namely Ruminococcus bromii, Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., and Dorea spp. Total short-chain fatty acid concentrations, relative to non-supplemented control (F), increased significantly with PPFB and FB supplementation but not PP. Indole and ammonia concentrations decreased with FB and PPFB supplementation but not PP alone while increased antioxidant capacity was only evident with both PP and PPFB supplementation. These findings demonstrated that, while the independent blends displayed selective positive impacts on gut states, the combination of both blends provided an additive effect. The work outlines the potential of mixed substrate blends to elicit a broader positive influence on gut microbial composition and function to build resiliency toward dysbiosis.

Meeting report of the sixth annual tri-service microbiome consortium symposium.

The Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium (TSMC) was founded to enhance collaboration, coordination, and communication of microbiome research among DoD organizations and to facilitate resource, material and information sharing amongst consortium members, which includes collaborators in academia and industry. The 6th Annual TSMC Symposium was a hybrid meeting held in Fairlee, Vermont on 27-28 September 2022 with presentations and discussions centered on microbiome-related topics within seven broad thematic areas: (1) Human Microbiomes: Stress Response; (2) Microbiome Analysis & Surveillance; (3) Human Microbiomes Enablers & Engineering; (4) Human Microbiomes: Countermeasures; (5) Human Microbiomes Discovery - Earth & Space; (6) Environmental Micro & Myco-biome; and (7) Environmental Microbiome Analysis & Engineering. Collectively, the symposium provided an update on the scope of current DoD microbiome research efforts, highlighted innovative research being done in academia and industry that can be leveraged by the DoD, and fostered collaborative opportunities. This report summarizes the activities and outcomes from the 6th annual TSMC symposium.