Metabolomic Investigations Reveal Lignin Deconstruction by Human Gut Microbiota
Lignin is a polyphenolic dietary fiber whose role in human nutrition has been debated for over a century. Herein, we reveal the ability of human gut microbiota to deconstruct lignin in anaerobic conditions. Quantitative 13C-tracing mass spectrometric analyses showed that sustained microbial deconstruction of lignin feeds into a pathway for the biosynthetic production of enterolignans. We used 2D…
A recent study published in <source b8222943-641> reports that human gut microbiota have the ability to break down lignin, a polyphenolic dietary fiber, under anaerobic conditions. This discovery calls into question the long-standing debate surrounding the role of lignin in human nutrition. The researchers utilized 13C-tracing mass spectrometric analyses to demonstrate that sustained microbial deconstruction of lignin leads to the biosynthetic production of enterolignans.
Additionally, 2D NMR characterization was employed to identify the structural changes in the lignin polymer induced by the human gut microbiota. Untargeted mass spectrometry was used to confirm that the deconstruction of lignin occurs rapidly, challenging previous reports that focused solely on the production of small metabolites.
The study also profiles the deconstruction of large lignin oligomers and identifies the putative structure of a large lignin oligomer, tracing its metabolism to downstream metabolites. The findings provide strong evidence to support the hypothesis that human gut microbiota play a significant role in anaerobic lignin deconstruction, thereby expanding the understanding of the human gut microbiome's involvement in this process.
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