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Carbohydrates, glycemic index and diabetes mellitus

Bifidogenic effect of whole-grain wheat during a 12-week energy-restricted dietary intervention in postmenopausal women

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 67, pages 1316–1321 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Consumption of whole-grain products is known to have beneficial effects on human health. The effects of whole-grain products on the intestinal microbiota and intestinal integrity have, however, only been studied limitedly. We investigate changes of the human gut microbiota composition after consumption of whole-grain (WW) or refined wheat (RW) and further study effects on gut wall integrity.

Subjects/Methods:

Quantitative PCR was used to determine changes in the gut bacterial composition in postmenopausal women following a 12-week energy-restricted dietary intervention with WW (N=38) or RW (N=34). Intestinal integrity was determined by measuring trans-epithelial resistance (TER) across a Caco-2 cell monolayer, following exposure to faecal water.

Results:

No significant differences in microbiota composition were observed between the two dietary groups; however, the whole-grain intervention increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium compared to baseline, supporting a prebiotic effect of whole-grain wheat. Faecal water increased TER independent of dietary intervention, indicating that commensal bacteria produce metabolites that generally provide a positive effect on intestinal integrity. Combining microbiota composition data from the run-in period with its effect on TER revealed a tendency for a negative correlation between the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and TER (P=0.09). This contradicts previous findings but supports observations of increased Salmonella infection in animal models following treatment with bifidogenic prebiotics.

Conclusions:

The present study shows that whole-grain wheat consumption increases the abundance of bifidobacteria compared to baseline and may have indirect effects on the integrity of the intestinal wall.

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Acknowledgements

The project was funded by the European Commission in the Communities 6th Framework Programme, Project HEALTHGRAIN (FOOD-CT-2005-514008) and by the Gut, Grain & Greens Research Centre, supported by the Danish Strategic Research Council (11-116163). We thank Bodil Madsen and Kate Vina Vibefeldt for excellent technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Food Microbiology, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Søborg, Denmark

    E G Christensen, T R Licht & M I Bahl

  2. Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, , Denmark

    M Kristensen

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Correspondence to M I Bahl.

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Christensen, E., Licht, T., Kristensen, M. et al. Bifidogenic effect of whole-grain wheat during a 12-week energy-restricted dietary intervention in postmenopausal women. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 1316–1321 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.207

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