Impacts of Whole-Grain Soft Red, Whole-Grain Soft White, and Refined Soft White Wheat Flour Crackers on Gastrointestinal Inflammation and the Gut Microbiota of Adult Humans

TL;DR

Eating different types of wheat crackers for four weeks had little effect on gut bacteria diversity or inflammation in adults.

Contribution

This study shows that short-term wheat flour consumption has minimal impact on gut microbiota and inflammation in adults.

Findings

Gut microbial diversity and inflammation markers remained unchanged across four weeks of wheat cracker consumption.

Three bacterial taxa showed significant abundance changes after whole-grain wheat interventions.

Wheat crackers had minimal impact on gastrointestinal inflammation or gut microbiota composition.

Abstract

Our understanding of methods by which dietary interventions can be used to modify the established gut microbiota in adult humans is rudimentary. In this intervention trial, a person’s gut microbial diversity and intestinal inflammatory markers remained unchanged across four weeks of daily consumption of 80 g of wheat crackers, regardless of wheat-flour type. Consumers must understand that shifting their gut microbiota and inflammatory state with a single dietary constituent may be difficult with mild and short-term interventions.

Consumption of whole-grain wheat has been associated with positive health outcomes, but it remains unclear whether different types of wheat elicit varying effects on the gut microbiome and intestinal inflammation. The objectives of this research were to investigate the effect of two whole-grain wheat flours versus refined wheat flour on the diversity of the human gut microbiota, as well as on butyrate production capacity and gastrointestinal inflammation, using one-week dietary interventions. For this study, 28 participants were recruited, with ages ranging from 18 to 55 years and a mean BMI of 26.0 kg/m2. For four weeks, participants were provided 80 g daily servings of different wheat crackers: Week A was a run-in period of crackers made from soft white wheat flour, Week B crackers were whole-grain soft white wheat flour, Week C crackers were a wash-out period identical to Week A, and Week D crackers were whole-grain soft red wheat flour. At the end of each week, participants provided fecal samples that were analyzed for markers of intestinal inflammation, including lipocalin and calprotectin, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and quantitative real-time PCR. The primary outcome, gut bacterial community alpha and beta diversity, was similar across timepoints. Three taxa significantly differed in abundance following both whole-grain wheat flour interventions: Escherichia/Shigella and Acidaminococcus were significantly depleted, and Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group was enriched. Secondary outcomes determined that protein markers of intestinal inflammation and genes related to putative butyrate production capacity were similar throughout the study period, with no significant changes. Lipocalin concentrations ranged from 14.8 to 22.6 ng/mL while calprotectin ranged from 33.2 to 62.5 ng/mL across all 4 weeks. The addition of wheat crackers to the adult human subjects’ usual diet had a minimal impact on their gastrointestinal inflammation or the gut microbiota.

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