title: Modulation of gut microbiota in rats fed high-fat diets by processing whole-grain barley to barley malt.
abstract: METHODS
  The gut microbiota is linked with human health, and by manipulating its composition, health conditions might be improved. The aim of this study was to investigate whether two barley products, whole-grain barley and barley malt, caused differentiation of the cecal microbiota in rats fed high-fat diets and whether there were correlations with the short-chain fatty acids formed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Male Wistar rats were given barley or malt (7-8 dietary fiber/100 g) for 4 weeks. Cellulose was used as a control, and the cecal microbiota was analyzed with next-generation sequencing of 16S rDNA. The barley group had higher abundances of Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria and lower abundances of Firmicutes and Deferribacteres than the control group; the alpha diversity was also lower. At the genus level, the barley group had higher abundances of Akkermansia, Ruminococcus, Blautia, and Bilophila. Turicibacter and Roseburia were more abundant in the malt group, and Parabacteroides, Dorea and rc4-4 were enriched in the control group. Most genera correlated with acetic and propionic acids, but Roseburia and Turicibacter instead correlated with butyric acid. Succinic acid correlated with Clostridium and Akkermansia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bioprocessing is a potential method to modulate the gut microbiota for enhanced effects on human health.
authors.affiliation: Food for Health Science Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Yadong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Food for Health Science Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nyman
authors.affiliation: Food for Health Science Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Frida
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fåk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002432:Cecum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D018525:Germination; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Q000379:methods; D001467:Hordeum / Q000254:growth & development; D007249:Inflammation / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile
keywords: Barley; Gut microbiota; Malting; Next-generation sequencing; Short-chain fatty acids