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Lookup NU author(s): Dr David Houghton, Dr Oliver Shannon, Dr Peter Chater, Dr Matt WilcoxORCiD, Professor Jeffrey Pearson, Kyle Stanforth, Dr Alasdair Blain, Ruth Jeffers, Ruth Nolan, Professor Christopher StewartORCiD, Fiona Malcomson
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
White kidney bean extract (WKBE) is a nutraceutical often advocated as an anti-obesity agent. The main proposed mechanism for these effects is alpha-amylase inhibition, thereby slowing carbohydrate digestion and absorption. Thus, it is possible that WKBE could impact the gut microbiota and modulate gut health. We investigated the effects of supplementing 20 healthy adults with WKBE for one week in a randomised, placebo-controlled crossover trial on the composition of the gut microbiota, gastrointestinal inflammation (faecal calprotectin), gastrointestinal symptoms, and stool habits. We conducted in vitro experiments and used a gut model system to explore potential inhibition of alpha-amylase. We gained qualitative insight into participant experiences of using WKBE via focus groups. WKBE supplementation decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and increased that of Firmicutes, however there were no significant differences in post-intervention gut microbiota measurements between the WKBE and Control. There were no significant effects on gastrointestinal inflammation or symptoms related to constipation, or stool consistency or frequency. Our in vitro and gut model system analyses showed no effects of WKBE on alphaamylase activity. Our findings suggest that WKBE may modulate the gut microbiota in healthy adults, however the underlying mechanism is unlikely due to active site inhibition of alphaamylase.
Author(s): Houghton D, Shannon OM, Chater PI, Wilcox MD, Pearson J, Stanforth K, Jordan C, Avery L, Blain AP, Joel A, Jeffers R, Nolan R, Nelson A, Stewart CJ, Malcomson FC
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Gut Microbiome
Year: 2023
Volume: 4
Online publication date: 18/06/2023
Acceptance date: 21/05/2023
Date deposited: 23/06/2023
ISSN (electronic): 2632-2897
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/gmb.2023.5
DOI: 10.1017/gmb.2023.5
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/t2pm-bs42
Data Access Statement: Data are available upon request
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