Impact of Gluten-Friendly Bread on the Metabolism and Function of In Vitro Gut Microbiota in Healthy Human and Coeliac Subjects

PLoS One. 2016 Sep 15;11(9):e0162770. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162770. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The main aim of this paper was to assess the in vitro response of healthy and coeliac human faecal microbiota to gluten-friendly bread (GFB). Thus, GFB and control bread (CB) were fermented with faecal microbiota in pH-controlled batch cultures. The effects on the major groups of microbiota were monitored over 48 h incubations by fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Furthermore, the death kinetics of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella Typhimurium in a saline solution supplemented with GFB or CB were also assessed. The experiments in saline solution pinpointed that GFB prolonged the survival of L. acidophilus and exerted an antibacterial effect towards S. aureus and S. Typhimurium. Moreover, GFB modulated the intestinal microbiota in vitro, promoting changes in lactobacilli and bifidobacteria members in coeliac subjects. A final multivariate approach combining both viable counts and metabolites suggested that GFB could beneficially modulate the coeliac gut microbiome; however, human studies are needed to prove its efficacy.

MeSH terms

  • Bread*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Celiac Disease / metabolism*
  • Celiac Disease / microbiology
  • Fermentation
  • Glutens / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Microbiota*

Substances

  • Glutens

Grants and funding

Casillo Group supported the research, but the funder had no role in any aspect of the research (design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, preparation of the manuscript).