Year

2021

Season

Spring

Paper Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

Brooks College of Health

Degree Name

Doctor of Clinical Nutrition (DCN)

Department

Nutrition & Dietetics

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Nutrition & Dietetics

First Advisor

Dr. Andrea Arikawa

Second Advisor

Dr. Alireza Jahan-Mihan

Rights Statement

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Third Advisor

Dr. Judith Ochrietor

Department Chair

Dr. Lauri Wright

College Dean

Curt. L Lox

Abstract

Background: The gut microbiome plays a key role in metabolic disease development. Diet is a modifiable factor that significantly influences gut microbial composition, and fermented foods are a reliable source of probiotic microorganisms that can contribute to gut homeostasis. The primary objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of fermented vegetable consumption for six weeks on markers of inflammation and gut microflora profiles in women.

Methods: Thirty-one women consumed 100 g/day of fermented vegetables (group A), non-fermented vegetables (group B), or no vegetables (group C) for six weeks. Dietary intake was assessed twice during the intervention by a food frequency questionnaire. Participants provided fasting blood samples and stool samples before and after the intervention. Next-generation sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was performed on the Illumina MiSeq 500 platform. Nonparametric tests were used to analyze the data.

Results: Participants’ ages ranged between 18 and 69 years. Compliance with vegetable consumption was 82% and 87% in groups A and B, respectively. We found 28 significant Pearson’s correlation coefficients between diversity and diet and metabolic biomarkers. There were no significant changes in levels of inflammatory markers among groups. At timepoint 2, Group A showed an increase in Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (P=.022), a decrease in Ruminococcus torques (PP=.074).

Conclusions: This suggests that regular consumption of fermented vegetables may shift gut microbiota towards a more beneficial composition. Further feeding trials test the role of regular consumption of fermented vegetables on metabolic markers and the gut microbiome are needed to determine whether consumption of fermented vegetables is an effective strategy against gut dysbiosis.

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