Distinct Gut Microbiota Signatures in Mice Treated with Commonly Used Food Preservatives

Diet is one of the most important factors regulating and influencing the composition of our gut microbiome, but the specific effects of commonly used antimicrobial agents i.e., food preservatives present within foods, are not completely understood. In this study, we examined the effect of the three...

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Autores principales: Ravinder Nagpal, Nagaraju Indugu, Prashant Singh
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/1b28d1c5d7484adca2fb1a1c5266038e
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Sumario:Diet is one of the most important factors regulating and influencing the composition of our gut microbiome, but the specific effects of commonly used antimicrobial agents i.e., food preservatives present within foods, are not completely understood. In this study, we examined the effect of the three widely used food-grade preservatives i.e., benzoic acid, potassium sorbate, and sodium nitrite, in recommended levels, on the gut microbiota diversity and composition in a mouse model. The analysis of β-diversity reveals distinct signatures of the gut microbiota between mice consuming different preservatives. Further analyses of α-diversity indices also show that the three preservatives induce specific patterns of microbial diversity, with diversity being lowest in mice consuming potassium sorbate. In terms of bacterial abundance, each of the three preservatives demonstrated unique microbial signatures, mainly affecting the proportions of bacterial taxa belonging to <i>Bacteroidetes</i>, <i>Verrucomicrobia</i>, and <i>Proteobacteria</i>. Specifically, we find the increased proportion of <i>Bacteroides</i>, <i>Blautia</i>, <i>Ruminococcus</i>, <i>Oscillospira</i>, and <i>Dorea</i> in mice fed with benzoate; increased abundance of <i>Firmicutes</i>, <i>Turicibacter</i>, and <i>Alkaliphilus</i> by sodium nitrate; and increased proportion of <i>Parabacteroides</i> and <i>Adlercreutzia</i> by potassium sorbate. The findings improve our understanding of how food-grade preservatives may influence the gut microbiota composition and diversity and should facilitate prospective studies investigating diet-microbiome interactions in relation to intestinal and metabolic health.