Washington [US]: Researchers have observed that two weeks of ingesting a weight loss plan heavy in tomatoes expanded the diversity of intestine microbes and altered intestine bacteria toward a more beneficial profile in young pigs.
After watching these results with a short-time period of intervention, the studies group plans to develop to similar studies in human beings, looking for health-related links among tomatoes within the food plan and adjustments to the human gut microbiome — the network of microorganisms dwelling within the gastrointestinal tract. “It’s feasible that tomatoes impart benefits through their modulation of the intestine microbiome,” said senior author Jessica Cooperstone, assistant professor of horticulture and crop technological know-how and meals technology and generation at The Ohio State University.
“Overall dietary styles have been related to differences in microbiome composition; however, food-unique outcomes have not been studied very much,” Cooperstone stated. “Ultimately, we might like to pick out in humans the role of these specific microorganisms and how they might contribute to capacity fitness outcomes.”
The studies are posted in the journal Microbiology Spectrum.
The tomatoes used within the look were advanced by Ohio State plant breeder, tomato geneticist, and co-writer David Francis, and are the type generally located in canned tomato merchandise.
Ten currently weaned manage pigs had been fed a fashionable weight-reduction plan, and 10 pigs had been fed the same old eating regimen first-class-tuned, so 10% of the meals consisted of a freeze-dried powder made from the tomatoes.
Fiber, sugar, protein, fats and energy were identical for both diets. The control and look at pig populations lived separately, and researchers jogging the examination minimized their time spent with the pigs — a series of precautions designed to ensure that any microbiome changes seen with the look at food plan could be attributed to chemicals within the tomatoes.
Microbial groups in the pigs’ guts were detected in fecal samples taken before the take-look started and then seven and 14 days after the weight loss plan was introduced.
The group used a way known as shotgun metagenomics to sequence all microbial DNA gifts inside the samples.
Results confirmed major changes in the microbiomes of pigs fed the tomato-heavy weight-reduction plan — the diversity of microbe species in their guts accelerated, and the concentrations of two varieties of micro organism commonplace within the mammal microbiome shifted to a more favorable profile.
This better ratio of the phyla Bacteroidota (formerly called Bacteriodetes) in comparison to Bacillota (formerly called Firmicutes) present inside the microbiome has been observed to be connected with good fitness results, while other researchers have connected this ratio in the opposite of better Bacillota compared to Bacteroidota, to obesity.
Tomatoes account for approximately 22% of vegetable consumption in Western diets, and former studies have associated the intake of tomatoes with decreased risk for developing numerous conditions, including cardiovascular sickness and a few cancers.
But tomatoes’ impact on the intestine microbiome remains a thriller, and Cooperstone stated those findings in pigs — whose gastrointestinal tract is greater similar than rodents’ to the human GI machine — recommend it is an avenue worth exploring.
“This was our first investigation as to how tomato consumption would affect the microbiome, and we’ve characterized which microbes are a gift and how their relative abundance has changed with this tomato intervention,” she stated.
“To truly understand the mechanisms, we want to do extra of this work in the long term in humans. We additionally wish to understand the complex interaction — how does eating those ingredients trade the composition of what microbes are a gift, and functionally, what does that do?
“Better information could result in extra evidence-based nutritional tips for long-term fitness.”
