resumo
Background & aims: Legumes intake is known to be associated with several health benefits the origins of which is still a matter of debate. This paper addresses a pilot small cohort to probe for metabolic aspects of the interplay between legumes intake, human metabolism and gut microbiota. Methods: Untargeted nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics of blood plasma and fecal extracts was carried out, in tandem with qPCR analysis of feces, to assess the impact of an 8-week pilot legumes diet intervention on the fecal and plasma metabolomes and gut microbiota of 19 subjects. Results: While the high inter-individual variability hindered the detection of statistically significant changes in the gut microbiome, increased fecal glucose and decreased threonine levels were noted. Correlation analysis between the microbiome and fecal metabolome lead to putative hypotheses regarding the metabolic activities of prevalent bacteria groups (Clostridium leptum subgroup, Roseburia spp., and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii). These included elevated fecal glucose as a preferential energy source, the involvement of valerate/isovalerate and reduced protein degradation in gut microbiota. Plasma metabolomics advanced mannose and betaine as potential markers of legume intake and unveiled a decrease in formate and ketone bodies, the latter suggesting improved energy utilization through legume carbohydrates. Amino acid metabolism was also apparently affected, as suggested by lowered urea, histidine and threonine levels. Conclusions: Despite the high inter-individual gut microbiome variability characterizing the small cohort addressed, combination of microbiological measurements and untargeted metabolomics unveiled several metabolic effects putatively related to legumes intake. If confirmed in larger cohorts, our findings will support the inclusion of legumes in diets and contribute valuable new insight into the origins of associated health benefits.
autores
Ferreira, Helena; Duarte, Daniela; Carneiro, Tatiana J.; Costa, Célia; Barbosa, Joana C.; Rodrigues, João E.; Alves, Paulo; Vasconcelos, Marta; Pinto, Elisabete; Gomes, Ana; Gil, Ana M.
nossos autores
Projectos
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDP/50011/2020)
Associated Laboratory CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (LA/P/0006/2020)
agradecimentos
This work was supported by National Funds from FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through project UIDB/50016/2020 and by the project “Transition paths to sustainable legume-based systems in Europe” (TRUE) which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 727973. HF would like to acknowledge FCT for doctoral grant ref. SFRH/BDE/132240/2017. AMG acknowledges the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials and FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), UIDB/50011/2020 (DOI 10.54499/UIDB/50011/2020), UIDP/50011/2020 (DOI 10.54499/UIDP/50011/2020) & LA/P/0006/2020 (DOI 10.54499/LA/P/0006/2020), financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). The NMR spectrometer is part of the National NMR Network (PTNMR) and is partially supported by PTNMR Infrastructure Project no. 022161 (co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE 2020, POCI and PORL and FCT through PIDDAC).