Back to Search Start Over

Analysing the Relationship between Nutrition and the Microbial Composition of the Oral Biofilm—Insights from the Analysis of Individual Variability

Authors :
Kirstin Vach
Ali Al-Ahmad
Annette Anderson
Johan Peter Woelber
Lamprini Karygianni
Annette Wittmer
Elmar Hellwig
Source :
Antibiotics, Vol 9, Iss 8, p 479 (2020)
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2020.

Abstract

The influence of a change in nutrition on the oral microbiota are discussed in literature, but usually only changes of population mean values are reported. This paper introduces simple methods to also analyse and report the variability of patients’ reactions considering data from the culture analysis of oral biofilm. The framework was illustrated by an experimental study exposing eleven participants to different nutrition schemes in five consecutive phases. Substantial inter-individual variations in the individual reactions were observed. A new coherence index made it possible to identify 14 instances where the direction of individual changes tended to coincide with the direction of the mean change with more than 95% probability. The heterogeneity in variability across different bacteria species was limited. This allowed us to develop recommendations for sample sizes in future studies. For studies measuring the concentration change of bacteria as a reaction to nutrition change, the use of replications and analysis of the variability is recommended. In order to detect moderate effects of a change in nutrition on the concentration of single bacterial taxa, 30 participants with three repetitions are often adequate. Insights into the relationship between nutrition and the microbial composition can be helpful for the development of dietary habits that promote the establishment of a healthy microbial flora and can therefore prevent the initiation of oral diseases such as caries and periodontitis.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20796382
Volume :
9
Issue :
8
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Antibiotics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.3682030422fd461f8c11291d35eb130e
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9080479