title: Effect of Whole-Grain Barley on the Human Fecal Microbiota and Metabolome.
abstract: In this study, we compared the fecal microbiota and metabolomes of 26 healthy subjects before (HS) and after (HSB) 2 months of diet intervention based on the administration of durum wheat flour and whole-grain barley pasta containing the minimum recommended daily intake (3 g) of barley β-glucans. Metabolically active bacteria were analyzed through pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and community-level catabolic profiles. Pyrosequencing data showed that levels of Clostridiaceae (Clostridium orbiscindens and Clostridium sp.), Roseburia hominis, and Ruminococcus sp. increased, while levels of other Firmicutes and Fusobacteria decreased, from the HSB samples to the HS fecal samples. Community-level catabolic profiles were lower in HSB samples. Compared to the results for HS samples, cultivable lactobacilli increased in HSB fecal samples, while the numbers of Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms, and Bacteroides, Porphyromonas, Prevotella, Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes, and Aeromonas bacteria decreased. Metabolome analyses were performed using an amino acid analyzer and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry solid-phase microextraction. A marked increase in short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), such as 2-methyl-propanoic, acetic, butyric, and propionic acids, was found in HSB samples with respect to the HS fecal samples. Durum wheat flour and whole-grain barley pasta containing 3% barley β-glucans appeared to be effective in modulating the composition and metabolic pathways of the intestinal microbiota, leading to an increased level of SCFA in the HSB samples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Angelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Nephrology Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Eustacchio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montemurno
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Interdepartmental Centre for Industrial Agri-Food Research, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vannini
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Nephrology Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cosola
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Noemi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cavallo
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gozzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Nephrology Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Maranzano
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Cagno
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy marco.gobbetti@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gobbetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Nephrology Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Loreto
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gesualdo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004032:Diet; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D001467:Hordeum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D055442:Metabolome; D064307:Microbiota; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D052617:Solid Phase Microextraction; D014908:Triticum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S