Title: Endogenous small intestinal microbiome determinants of transient colonisation efficiency by bacteria from fermented dairy products: a randomised controlled trial
| Published: | October 25, 2023 |
Little is known about how fermented foods affect the microorganisms in the small intestine and how they help keep our bodies balanced. Most of our knowledge about bacteria harbored in our intestines comes from studying colonic samples. This study aimed to investigate how bacteria fermented dairy products affect the microbial ecosystem and its functions in the small intestine of individuals with ileostomy – a surgical operation that creates and opening in the abdomen.
To this end, 16 subjects with ileostomies underwent 3 different interventions during a 2-week period, consuming daily either a fresh fermented dairy drink containing Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus CNCM I-3690, a yogurt drink fermented by Streptococcus thermophilus CNCM I-1630 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus CNCM I-1519, or a placebo.
By analyzing ileostoma effluent samples, researchers found that consumption of the intervention products had a minimal and transilient impact on the overall bacterial composition and related function in the small intestine. However, the interventions did not have any significant effect on the levels of specific metabolites (short chain fatty acids) or on the permeability of the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, the impact on the composition of the bacterial community varied from person-to-person. Notably, it was observed that the way the resident bacteria in the small intestines produced energy from different types of nutrients (carbon or amino acids) might be responsible for the individual-specific effects of the interventions.
Further investigation is needed to understand how these factors influence the relationship between diet, bacteria, and human health.