Search

Background: Herbs and spices are rich in polyphenolic compounds that may influence gut bacterial composition. The effect of culinary doses of herbs and spices consumed as part of a well-defined dietary pattern on gut bacterial composition has not been previously studied.Objectives: The aim of this pre-specified exploratory analysis was to examine gut bacterial composition following an average American diet (carbohydrate: 50% kcal; protein: 17%; total fat: 33%; saturated fat: 11%) containing herbs and spices at 0.5 (Low Spice Diet; LSD), 3.3 (Moderate Spice Diet; MSD) and 6.6 (High Spice Diet; HSD) g.d-1.2100 kcal-1 in adults at-risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD).Design: Fifty-four adults (57% female; mean ± SD age 45 ± 11 years, BMI 29.8 ± 2.9 kg/m2; waist circumference 102.8 ± 7.1 cm) were included in this three-period, randomized, crossover, controlled-feeding study. Each diet was provided for 4-weeks with a minimum 2-week wash-out period. At baseline and the end of each diet period participants provided a fecal sample for 16S rRNA gene (V4 region) sequencing. QIIME2 was used for data filtration, sequence clustering, taxonomy assignment and statistical analysis.Results: Alpha diversity assessed by the Observed Features metric (p = 0.046) was significantly greater following the MSD vs. the LSD; no other between diet differences in alpha diversity were detected. Differences in beta-diversity were not observed between the diets (p = 0.45). Compared to baseline, beta-diversity differed following all diets (p < 0.02). Enrichment of the Ruminococcaceae family was observed following the HSD vs. the MSD (relative abundance (RA) = 22.14%; LDA = 4.22; p = 0.03) and the LSD (RA = 24.90%; LDA = 4.47; p = 0.004).Conclusions: The addition of herbs and spices to an average American diet induced shifts in gut bacterial composition after 4-weeks in adults at risk for CVD. The metabolic implications of these changes merits further investigation. Clinical Trial Registry: NCT03064932. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Herbs and spices are rich in polyphenolic compounds that may influence gut bacterial composition. The effect of culinary doses of herbs and spices consumed as part of a well-defined dietary pattern on gut bacterial composition has not been previously studied., Objectives: The aim of this prespecified exploratory analysis was to examine gut bacterial composition following an average American diet (carbohydrate: 50% kcal; protein: 17%; total fat: 33%; saturated fat: 11%) containing herbs and spices at 0.5, 3.3, and 6.6 g.d -1 .2100 kcal -1 [low-, moderate-, and high-spice diets, respectively (LSD, MSD, and HSD)] in adults at risk for CVD., Methods: Fifty-four adults (57% female; mean ± SD age: 45 ± 11 y; BMI: 29.8 ± 2.9 kg/m 2 ; waist circumference: 102.8 ± 7.1 cm) were included in this 3-period, randomized, crossover, controlled-feeding study. Each diet was provided for 4 wk with a minimum 2-wk washout period. At baseline and the end of each diet period, participants provided a fecal sample for 16S rRNA gene (V4 region) sequencing. QIIME2 was used for data filtration, sequence clustering, taxonomy assignment, and statistical analysis., Results: α-diversity assessed by the observed features metric ( P = 0.046) was significantly greater following the MSD as compared with the LSD; no other between-diet differences in α-diversity were detected. Differences in β-diversity were not observed between the diets ( P = 0.45). Compared with baseline, β-diversity differed following all diets ( P < .02). Enrichment of the Ruminococcaceae family was observed following the HSD as compared with the MSD (relative abundance = 22.14%, linear discriminant analysis = 4.22, P = 0.03) and the LSD (relative abundance = 24.90%, linear discriminant analysis = 4.47, P = 0.004)., Conclusions: The addition of herbs and spices to an average American diet induced shifts in gut bacterial composition after 4 wk in adults at risk for CVD. The metabolic implications of these changes merit further investigation. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03064932., (Copyright © 2022 American Society for Nutrition.)