Bowel habits, faecal microbiota and faecal bile acid composition of healthy adults consuming fruit pomace fibres

Celeste Alexander, Mary Brauchla, Kristen D. Sanoshy, Traci M. Blonquist, Grace N. Maloney, Eunice Mah, Kathleen Kelley-Garvin, Oliver Chen, Deann J. Liska, Jin-e Shin, Thomas W. Boileau, Kelly S. Swanson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Dietary fibre modulates gastrointestinal (GI) health and function, providing laxation, shifting microbiota, and altering bile acid (BA) metabolism. Fruit juice production removes the polyphenol- and fibre-rich pomace fraction. The effects of orange and apple pomaces on GI outcomes were investigated in healthy, free-living adults. Healthy adults were enrolled in two double-blinded, crossover trials, being randomised by baseline bowel movement (BM) frequency. In the first trial, subjects (n 91) received orange juice (OJ, 0 g fibre/d) or OJ + orange pomace (OJ + P, 10 g fibre/d) for 4 weeks, separated by a 3-week washout. Similarly, in the second trial, subjects (n 90) received apple juice (AJ, 0 g fibre/d) or AJ + apple pomace (AJ + P, 10 g fibre/d). Bowel habit diaries, GI tolerance surveys and 3-d diet records were collected throughout. Fresh faecal samples were collected from a participant subset for microbiota and BA analyses in each study. Neither pomace interventions influenced BM frequency. At Week 4, OJ + P tended to increase (P = 0·066) GI symptom occurrence compared with OJ, while AJ + P tended (P = 0·089) to increase flatulence compared with AJ. Faecalibacterium (P = 0·038) and Negativibacillus (P = 0·043) were differentially abundant between pre- and post-interventions in the apple trial but were no longer significant after false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Baseline fibre intake was independently associated with several microbial genera in both trials. Orange or apple pomace supplementation was insufficient to elicit changes in bowel habits, microbiota diversity or BA of free-living adults with healthy baseline BM. Future studies should consider baseline BM frequency and habitual fibre intake.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)42-55
Number of pages14
JournalBritish Journal of Nutrition
Volume130
Issue number1
Early online dateSep 14 2022
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 14 2023

Keywords

  • clinical trial
  • tolerance
  • gastrointestinal health
  • dietary fibre
  • human

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)

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