BioProject

The aging population is recognised as a global health priority and it is predicted that the number of over 65 year olds will soon outnumber the very young. More...

The aging population is recognised as a global health priority and it is predicted that the number of over 65 year olds will soon outnumber the very young. Microbial diversity within the human colon seems to diminish with aging and the colonic microbiota is a major driver not only for gut health but also systemic health. Moreover, high microbial diversity is positively associated with health whilst diminished diversity, as often found in the elderly, results in reduced abundance of beneficial bacteria likely to impact on health. This includes a reduction in a number of key species, including butyrate-producers, which are considered to have a role in health maintenance. Several factors impact on defining the composition of the gut microbiota including diet. In the elderly this can be influenced by deterioration in dentition and consuming bland diets low in fibre. Mortality due to gastrointestinal infections is also several hundred-times higher in the elderly compared to young adults. Improving microbial balance in the intestines of the elderly should therefore be an important health objective. A targeted prebiotic approach using novel fibres is anticipated to offer the potential to promote microbial diversity and increase the abundance of beneficial microbes with a concomitant reduction in pathogen carriage is in development. A fibre supplement was used in a human supplementation study in which we recruited 22 volunteers. The volunteers were provided with either the novel fibre or placebo in a cross over design for a period of 10 days. During the study we collected faecal samples for microbiota and metabolite profiles and calprotectin assays. We hypothesize that the novel fibre prebiotic supplement will increase gut microbial diversity and improve health status through improved bowel function, microbial metabolite outputs and inflammatory status. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/ Less...