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. 2007 Feb;73(4):1073-8.
doi: 10.1128/AEM.02340-06. Epub 2006 Dec 22.

Reduced dietary intake of carbohydrates by obese subjects results in decreased concentrations of butyrate and butyrate-producing bacteria in feces

Sylvia H Duncan  1 , Alvaro Belenguer, Grietje Holtrop, Alexandra M Johnstone, Harry J Flint, Gerald E Lobley
Affiliations

Reduced dietary intake of carbohydrates by obese subjects results in decreased concentrations of butyrate and butyrate-producing bacteria in feces

Sylvia H Duncan et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007 Feb.

Abstract

Weight loss diets for humans that are based on a high intake of protein but low intake of fermentable carbohydrate may alter microbial activity and bacterial populations in the large intestine and thus impact on gut health. In this study, 19 healthy, obese (body mass index range, 30 to 42) volunteers were given in succession three different diets: maintenance (M) for 3 days (399 g carbohydrate/day) and then high protein/medium (164 g/day) carbohydrate (HPMC) and high protein/low (24 g/day) carbohydrate (HPLC) each for 4 weeks. Stool samples were collected at the end of each dietary regimen. Total fecal short-chain fatty acids were 114 mM, 74 mM, and 56 mM (P < 0.001) for M, HPMC, and HPLC diets, respectively, and there was a disproportionate reduction in fecal butyrate (18 mM, 9 mM, and 4 mM, respectively; P < 0.001) with decreasing carbohydrate. Major groups of fecal bacteria were monitored using nine 16S rRNA-targeted fluorescence in situ hybridization probes, relative to counts obtained with the broad probe Eub338. No significant change was seen in the relative counts of the bacteroides (Bac303) (mean, 29.6%) or the clostridial cluster XIVa (Erec482, 23.3%), cluster IX (Prop853, 9.3%), or cluster IV (Fprau645, 11.6%; Rbro730 plus Rfla729, 9.3%) groups. In contrast, the Roseburia spp. and Eubacterium rectale subgroup of cluster XIVa (11%, 8%, and 3% for M, HPMC, and HPLC, respectively; P < 0.001) and bifidobacteria (4%, 2.1%, and 1.9%, respectively; P = 0.026) decreased as carbohydrate intake decreased. The abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria related to Roseburia spp. and E. rectale correlated well with the decline in fecal butyrate.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Relationship between carbohydrate intake (average over 7 days preceding donation of stool sample for moderate- and low-carbohydrate diets; average of 3 days preceding stool sample for maintenance) and butyrate concentration in feces. •, maintenance diet; ×, HPMC diet; □, HPLC diet. Correlation, 0.76 (P < 0.001, REML).
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Relationship between abundance of the Roseburia spp. and E. rectale group (detected using the Rrec584 probe) and butyrate concentration in feces. •, maintenance diet; ×, HPMC diet; □, HPLC diet. Correlation, 0.68 (P < 0.001, REML).
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
Mean proportions of different bacterial groups in feces of human volunteers consuming maintenance, HPMC, or HPLC diets (assessed by FISH; also Table 4). The bacterial groups are represented as follows: Bac, Bacteroides spp. detected by Bac303; XIVaR, Roseburia spp. and E. rectale, detected by Rrec584; XIVa-R, clostridial cluster XIVa, detected by Erec482, minus those detected by Rrec584; IVR, cluster IV ruminococci detected by Rfla729 and Rbro730; IVFp, F. prausnitzii detected by Fprau645; IX, clostridial cluster IX bacteria detected by Prop853; Bif, Bifidobacterium spp. detected by Bif164; DSV, sulfate-reducing bacteria detected by Dsv698; unknown, bacteria detected by the broad Eub338 probe that were unaccounted for by the group probes used.
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