ORCID Profile
0000-0002-8081-8931
Current Organisation
University of Reading
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-10-2021
DOI: 10.1007/S00394-020-02392-0
Abstract: It has been suggested that a high intake of sugar or sweeteners may result in an unfavorable microbiota composition however, evidence is lacking. Hence, in this exploratory epidemiological study, we aim to examine if intake of added sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) or artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) associate with the gut microbiota composition. Participants (18–70 years) in the Malmö Offspring Study have provided blood, urine, and fecal s les and completed both web-based 4 day food records and short food frequency questionnaires. The gut microbiota was assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing, processed in QIIME and matched to Greengenes (v.13.8), giving 64 included genera after filtering. Intake of added sugar ( n = 1371) (also supported by the overnight urinary sugar biomarker in a subgroup n = 577), SSBs ( n = 1086) and ASBs ( n = 1085) were examined as exposures in negative binomial regressions. Various genera nominally associated with intake of added sugar, SSBs, and ASBs. Only the negative association between SSB intake and Lachnobacterium remained significant after multiple testing correction. A positive association between SSB intake and the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio was also observed. In this wide population, the cross-sectional associations between added sugar and sweet beverage intake and the gut microbiota are modest, but the results suggest that SSB intake is associated negatively with the genus Lachnobacterium and positively with the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Larger studies, preferably using metagenomic sequencing, are needed to further evaluate if a link exists between intake of sugars and sweeteners and the human gut microbiota.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-09-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-019-49702-Z
Abstract: Data from dietary intervention studies suggest that intake of (−)-epicatechin mediates beneficial vascular effects in humans. However, population-based investigations are required to evaluate associations between habitual intake and health and these studies rely on accurate estimates of intake, which nutritional biomarkers can provide. Here, we evaluate a series of structurally related (−)-epicatechin metabolites (SREM), particularly (−)-epicatechin-3′-glucuronide, (−)-epicatechin-3′-sulfate and 3′-O-methyl-(−)-epicatechin-5-sulfate (SREM B ), as flavan-3-ol and (−)-epicatechin intake. SREM B in urine proved to be a specific indicator of (−)-epicatechin intake, showing also a strong correlation with the amount of (−)-epicatechin ingested (R 2 : 0.86 (95% CI 0.8l 0.92). The median recovery of (−)-epicatechin as SREM B in 24 h urine was 10% (IQR 7–13%) and we found SREM B in the majority of participants of EPIC Norfolk (83% of 24,341) with a mean concentration of 2.4 ± 3.2 µmol/L. Our results show that SREM B are suitable as biomarker of (−)-epicatechin intake. According to evaluation criteria from IARC and the Institute of Medicine, the results obtained support use of SREM B as a recovery biomarker to estimate actual intake of (−)-epicatechin.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-06-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-28333-W
Abstract: The accurate assessment of dietary intake is crucial to investigate the effect of diet on health. Currently used methods, relying on self-reporting and food composition data, are known to have limitations and might not be suitable to estimate the intake of many bioactive food components. An alternative are nutritional biomarkers, which can allow an unbiased assessment of intake. They require a careful evaluation of their suitability, including: (a) the availability of a precise, accurate and robust analytical method, (b) their specificity (c) a consistent relationship with actual intake. We have evaluated human metabolites of a microbiome-derived flavan-3-ol catabolite, 5-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-[gamma]-valerolactone (gVL), as biomarker of flavan-3-ol intake in large epidemiological studies. Flavan-3-ols are widely consumed plant bioactives, which have received considerable interest due to their potential ability to reduce CVD risk. The availability of authentic standards allowed the development of a validated high-throughput method suitable for large-scale studies. In dietary intervention studies, we could show that gVL metabolites are specific for flavan-3-ols present in tea, fruits, wine and cocoa-derived products, with a strong correlation between intake and biomarker (Spearman’s r = 0.90). This biomarker will allow for the first time to estimate flavan-3-ol intake and further investigation of associations between intake and disease risk.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Gunter Georg Christian Kuhnle.