Associations Between Gut Microbiome & Legume Consumption

Gut Microbiota

News release, Polyphenols Applications - 25 March 2022, Valencia - Spain

Legumes, important components of a healthy diet, may exert their health benefits through the influence of the gut microbiome.

This informative research aimed to examine the associations between long-term legume consumption and the gut microbiome among elderly Chinese.

The research team profiled the gut microbiome by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing in 2302 Chinese adults enrolled in 2 large cohort studies, the Shanghai Women's Health Study and Shanghai Men's Health Study. Legume consumption, including peanuts, soy foods, and other beans, was assessed by food-frequency questionnaires prior to the stool collection. The associations of legume consumption with microbiome diversity and taxa abundance were evaluated by linear or negative binomial hurdle models, adjusting for sociodemographics, lifestyle factors, and BMI.

According to their results, 52% and 48% of study participants were male and female and the mean age at stool collection was 68.03 y for females and 70.28 y for males.

Total legume consumption was not associated with gut microbiome ɑ-diversity; however, male peanut consumers had a higher Chao1 index, whereas peanut consumption was associated with decreased Shannon and Simpson indexes among females.

In female and male combined analyses, total legume consumption was associated with increased Enterobacteriales. Within this order, an unclassified genus in the family Enterobacteriaceae was positively associated with total legume  and peanut consumption. Stratified analyses showed significant associations were primarily confined to females and participants without metabolic conditions.

Overall, legume consumption was associated with gut microbiome diversity and abundance of some bacteria in elderly Chinese. Associations were significant only among 1 sex group.

The researchers recommended further research, including large-scale prospective studies and feeding trials, to fully understand the role of the gut microbiome in legume-health associations.

Discussions on polyphenols-gut microbiota correlation and many more topics will take place during the 15th World Congress on Polyphenols Applications.

You can access the full article here.

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Polyphenols Applications 2022 Congress
September 28-30, 2022 - Valencia, Spain
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