Over-the-counter fiber supplementation associates with metabolic and microbial shifts in rectal mucosa
Fiber supplements are the first line of treatment for all patients with benign anorectal disease. In addition, fiber has been found to support gut microbiota and reduce inflammation; however, their integrated effect on the colonic mucosal environment is incompletely defined. We evaluated how mixed-fiber formulations may collectively shape the rectal mucosal environment through coordinated effects…
A recent study has explored the impact of fiber supplementation on the rectal mucosal environment in patients with benign anorectal disease. The research, involving 37 participants taking a mixed-fiber formulation for 28 days, aimed to assess the effects on microbiota composition, short-chain fatty acid handling, and host transcription.
The study analyzed microbiota (16S rRNA), the metabolome (GC-MS and LC-MS), and the transcriptome (in a subset of 10 participants) before and after supplementation. Despite a stable diversity in the microbiota, 10 mucosal amplicons were found to be differentially abundant, including Parabacteroides and Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group.
Simultaneously, SCFAs, such as propionate and isobutyrate, decreased in rectal tissue, and butyrate decreased in serum. The researchers delved into the transcriptome to identify 130 differentially expressed genes and enrichment of metabolic and SCFA-related pathways. A random forest regression identified a modest signal for serum butyrate.
The findings suggest that short-term mixed-fiber supplementation may lead to selective rectal mucosal taxonomic shifts and enrich mucosal metabolic and SCFA-metabolism programs, even when SCFA pools are reduced. This indicates that over-the-counter fiber supplementation could potentially reshape the mucosal metabolic environment.
Written by urgent.news from bioRxiv's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
