INTRODUCTIONS

Prebiotic supplementation represents a promising method to influence gut microbial composition and achieve better metabolic results since it supports metabolic health through gut–microbiota functions. Some researches have evaluated the changes that prebiotic intake makes on gut microbiota diversity, metabolic health characteristics, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) formation in normal-functioning adults.

METHODS

We performed a placebo-controlled double-blind randomized study involving 120 participants, 20–45 years old, but only 50 completed it. The participants received either 15 g/day of inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides in the prebiotic group or a placebo for twelve weeks. We measured gut microbiota diversity through the Shannon and Simpson indices and detected metabolic markers, including fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, lipid profiles, inflammatory markers, and SCFA levels, at baseline and weeks 6 and 12.

RESULTS

The participants in the prebiotic group showed significant improvements in gut microbiota diversity (Shannon index: 5.12 ± 0.89 to 5.78 ± 0.95, p < 0.001), alongside increased SCFAs (acetate: 65.12 ± 8.45 to 70.23 ± 9.45 µg/mL, p < 0.001) and fasting glucose (89.5 ± 8.2 to 87.6 ± 7.5 mg/dL, p = 0.045), while insulin (8.12 ± 3.45 to 7.65 ± 3.01 µIU/mL, p = 0.023), HOMA-IR scores (1.82 ± 0.91 to 1.72 ± 0.83, p = 0.031), and CRP (3.45 ± 1.23 to 3.12 ± 1.08 mg/L, p = 0.015) reached lower significant levels. The analysis showed a direct relationship between reduced microbial diversity and higher metabolic markers (Shannon diversity index showed a negative correlation with fasting glucose at r = -0.32 and p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

These preliminary data from our research show that prebiotics can be a nutritional approach to more effective metabolism and make up part of personalized strategies to prevent and cure several diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions) linked to gut dysbiosis and metabolic imbalance.