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Elevated postprandial plasma glucose is a risk factor for development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that the inter-individual postprandial plasma glucose response varies partly depending on the intestinal microbiome composition and function. We analyzed data from Danish adults (n = 106), who were self-reported healthy and attended the baseline visit of two previously reported randomized controlled cross-over trials within the Gut, Grain and Greens project. Plasma glucose concentrations at five time points were measured before and during three hours after a standardized breakfast. Based on these data, we devised machine learning algorithms integrating bio-clinical, as well as shotgun-sequencing-derived taxa and functional potentials of the intestinal microbiome to predict individual postprandial glucose excursions. In this post hoc study, we found microbial and clinical features, which predicted up to 48% of the inter-individual variance of postprandial plasma glucose responses (Pearson correlation coefficient of measured vs. predicted values, R = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.84, p<0.001). The features were age, fasting serum triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, BMI, fasting total serum cholesterol, abundance of Bifidobacterium genus, richness of metagenomics species and abundance of a metagenomic species annotated to Clostridiales at order level. A model based only on microbial features predicted up to 14% of the variance in postprandial plasma glucose excursions (R = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.64, p = 0.04). Adding fasting glycaemic measures to the model including microbial and bio-clinical features increased the predictive power to R = 0.78 (95% CI: 0.59 to 0.89, p<0.001), explaining more than 60% of the inter-individual variance of postprandial plasma glucose concentrations. The outcome of the study points to a potential role of the taxa and functional potentials of the intestinal microbiome. If validated in

Little is known about how colonic transit time relates to human colonic metabolism and its importance for host health, although a firm stool consistency, a proxy for a long colonic transit time, has recently been positively associated with gut microbial richness. Here, we show that colonic transit time in humans, assessed using radio-opaque markers, is associated with overall gut microbial composition, diversity and metabolism. We find that a long colonic transit time associates with high microbial richness and is accompanied by a shift in colonic metabolism from carbohydrate fermentation to protein catabolism as reflected by higher urinary levels of potentially deleterious protein-derived metabolites. Additionally, shorter colonic transit time correlates with metabolites possibly reflecting increased renewal of the colonic mucosa. Together, this suggests that a high gut microbial richness does not per se imply a healthy gut microbial ecosystem and points at colonic transit time as a highly important factor to consider in microbiome and metabolomics studies.

Little is known about how colonic transit time relates to human colonic metabolism, and its importance for host health, although stool consistency, a proxy for colonic transit time, has recently been negatively associated with gut microbial richness. To address the relationships between colonic transit time and the gut microbial composition and metabolism, we assessed the colonic transit time of 98 subjects using radiopaque markers, and profiled their gut microbiota by16S rRNA gene sequencing and their urine metabolome by ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Based on correlation analyses, we show that colonic transit time is associated with overall gut microbial composition, diversity and metabolism. A relatively prolonged colonic transit time associates with high microbial species richness and a shift in colonic metabolism from carbohydrate fermentation to protein catabolism as reflected by higher urinary levels of potentially deleterious protein-derived metabolites. Additionally, shorter colonic transit time correlates with metabolites likely reflecting increased renewal of the colonic mucosa. Together, this suggests that a high gut microbial richness does not per se imply a healthy gut microbial ecosystem and points at colonic transit time as a highly important factor to consider in microbiome and metabolomics studies.

Little is known about how colonic transit time relates to human colonic metabolism, and its importance for host health, although stool consistency, a proxy for colonic transit time, has recently been negatively associated with gut microbial richness. To address the relationships between colonic transit time and the gut microbial composition and metabolism, we assessed the colonic transit time of 98 subjects using radiopaque markers, and profiled their gut microbiota by16S rRNA gene sequencingand their urine metabolome by ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Based on correlation analyses,we show that colonic transit time is associated with overall gutmicrobial composition, diversity and metabolism. A relatively prolonged colonic transit time associates with high microbial species richness and a shift in colonic metabolismfrom carbohydrate fermentation to protein catabolism as reflected by microbial metabolites in urine. This results in a number of potentially deleterious protein-derived metabolites. Additionally, longer colonic transit time correlates with metabolites likely reflecting reduced renewal of the colonic mucosa. Together, this suggests that a high gut microbial richness does not per seimply a healthy gut microbiota, and contributes to the understanding of the pathophysiologyof diseases where increased transit time is a risk factor.Finally, our findings highlight the colonic transit time as an important physiological variable, which should be considered in gut microbiota and metabolomics studies

BACKGROUND: Since information about macro- and micronutrient intake among vegans is limited we aimed to determine and evaluate their dietary and supplementary intake.METHODS: Seventy 18-61 years old Danish vegans completed a four-day weighed food record from which their daily intake of macro- and micronutrients was assessed and subsequently compared to an age-range-matched group of 1 257 omnivorous individuals from the general Danish population. Moreover, the vegan dietary and supplementary intake was compared to the 2012 Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR).RESULTS: Dietary intake differed significantly between vegans and the general Danish population in all measured macro- and micronutrients (p < 0.05), except for energy intake among women and intake of carbohydrates among men. For vegans the intake of macro- and micronutrients (including supplements) did not reach the NNR for protein, vitamin D, iodine and selenium. Among vegan women vitamin A intake also failed to reach the recommendations. With reference to the NNR, the dietary content of added sugar, sodium and fatty acids, including the ratio of PUFA to SFA, was more favorable among vegans.CONCLUSIONS: At the macronutrient level, the diet of Danish vegans is in better accordance with the NNR than the diet of the general Danish population. At the micronutrient level, considering both diet and supplements, the vegan diet falls short in certain nutrients, suggesting a need for greater attention toward ensuring recommended daily intake of specific vitamins and minerals.

With the prevalence of cardio-metabolic disorders reaching pandemic proportions, the search for modifiable causative factors has intensified. One such potential factor is the vast microbial community inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbiota. For the past decade evidence has accumulated showing the association of distinct changes in gut microbiota composition and function with obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Although causality in humans and the pathophysiological mechanisms involved have yet to be decisively established, several studies have demonstrated that the gut microbiota, as an environmental factor influencing the metabolic state of the host, is readily modifiable through a variety of interventions. In this review we provide an overview of the development of the gut microbiome and its compositional and functional changes in relation to cardio-metabolic disorders, and give an update on recent progress in how this could be exploited in microbiota-based therapeutics.