Effects of Infant Formula Supplemented With Prebiotics on the Gut Microbiome, Gut Environment, Growth Parameters, and Safety and Tolerance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Context: Prebiotics are often added to infant formulas to mimic the benefits of oligosaccharides found in human milk.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effects of prebiotic-supplemented cow's milk-based formula on the gut microbiota, gut environment, growth parameters, and safety and tolerance in infants ≤6 months old, compared with a standard formula or human milk comparator.

Data Sources: Searches were performed in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses databases.

Sex-specific response of intramuscular fat to diet-induced obesity in rats.

Metabolic abnormalities associated with excess adiposity in obesity contribute to many noncommunicable diseases, including sarcopenic obesity. Sarcopenic obesity is the loss of muscle mass coupled with excess fat mass and fatty infiltrations in muscle tissue called myosteatosis. A diet-induced obesity model was developed to study fat infiltration in muscle tissue.

Effects of a Paternal Diet High in Animal Protein (Casein) versus Plant Protein (Pea Protein with added Methionine) on Offspring Metabolic and Gut Microbiota Outcomes in Rats.

Evidence suggests that paternal diet can influence offspring metabolic health intergenerationally but whether dietary animal and plant proteins differ in their impact on fathers and their offspring is not known. Our objective was to examine the effects of a paternal diet high in casein versus pea protein on fathers and their offspring. Five-week-old male rats were fed: 1) control, 2) high animal protein (AP, 36.

Biomarkers of Intestinal Permeability Are Influenced by Diet in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis-An Exploratory Study.

The disruption of the intestinal epithelial barrier leads to increased intestinal permeability (IP), allowing endotoxins and pathogens to enter the bloodstream contributing to chronic inflammation. Western diets are associated with increased IP, while diets rich in polyphenols, fiber, and omega-3 fats are linked to decreased IP. The relationship between diet, disease activity, and IP in ulcerative colitis (UC) is poorly understood.

Development of shoulder osteoarthritis and bone lesions in female and male rats subjected to a high fat/sucrose diet.

Oligofructose prebiotic fiber supplementation has been reported to mitigate the effects of a high fat/high sucrose diet and reduce knee joint degeneration in male rats. However, few studies investigated the development of osteoarthritis and bone lesions as a function of sex and in joints other than the knee. This study was aimed at to quantifying the effect of a HFS diet and prebiotic fiber supplementation on shoulder joint health in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats.

A novel scoring system to separate typical OA joint degeneration from non-typical lesions in male rats.

Objective: To develop a novel scoring system to characterize osteoarthritis-related degeneration distinct from spontaneous subchondral bone lesions observed in the tibia and femur of male Sprague Dawley rats.

Method: Knee joints from male rats following 12 weeks of a diet-induced obesity model of osteoarthritis (OA) were assessed. OA histopathological changes (OAHC) were assessed in the knee joints.

The effects of chicory inulin-type fructans supplementation on weight management outcomes: systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Excess body weight and adiposity can adversely affect metabolic health. Prebiotics such as inulin-type fructans (ITFs) from chicory root are known to modulate gut microbiota and may improve body weight regulation.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess evidence for chicory ITF supplementation to support weight management.

Gut microbiome-targeted therapies and bone health across the lifespan: a scoping review.

Emerging evidence suggests that bone turnover is influenced by the gut microbiome through critical bone signaling pathways. The purpose of this scoping review is to examine prebiotic, probiotic, and synbiotic interventions on bone outcomes in humans across the lifespan. PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCOhost were searched until January 2023 to identify clinical trials examining bone mineral density (BMD) or bone mineral content (BMC) with gut microbiome interventions.

Early Life Surgency, but not Effortful Control or Negative Affectivity, Is a Mediating Variable Between Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index and Childhood Obesity Risk.

Maternal gestational obesity is related to risk of obesity in the child. This risk may be in part mediated by altered child temperament, which can affect mother-child interactions, including feeding and soothing behaviors that affect obesity risk. Our objective was to examine the association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and child zBMI and determine if child temperament, specifically positive Affectivity/Surgency, mediates this association.

Intrapartum antibiotic use is associated with higher child body mass index (BMI) z-score at 4 years of age.

Early life antibiotic exposure may increase obesity risk. We investigated if prenatal, intrapartum, or childhood antibiotic use is associated with child zBMI score at 4 yrs of age. We included data from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study, a prospective cohort study, on maternal and child antibiotic exposure and clinic measures of height and weight at age 4 (n = 408).

Associations Between Health Behaviors, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, and Gut Microbiota in a Cross-Sectional Sample of Cancer Survivors: Secondary Analysis from the Chemo-Gut Study.

Background: Health behaviors, such as diet and exercise, are actions individuals take that can potentially impact gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and the gut microbiota. Little is known about how health behaviors impact GI symptoms and the gut microbiota after anti-cancer therapies.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study that investigated relationships between GI symptoms, gut microbiota, and patient-reported outcomes in adult cancer survivors.

Cluster-specific associations between the gut microbiota and behavioral outcomes in preschool-aged children.

Background: The gut microbiota is recognized as a regulator of brain development and behavioral outcomes during childhood. Nonetheless, associations between the gut microbiota and behavior are often inconsistent among studies in humans, perhaps because many host-microbe relationships vary widely between individuals. This study aims to stratify children based on their gut microbiota composition (i.

Protocol for nutritional intervention in neonatal rats using the "pup-in-a-cup" artificial rearing system.

Early-life nutrition fundamentally influences newborn development and health. Here, we present a protocol for nutritional intervention in neonatal rats using the "pup-in-a-cup" artificial rearing system. We describe steps for rat milk substitute preparation, cheek cannulation and maintenance, and nutritional manipulation during the suckling period.

The British Columbia Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupon Program Reduces Short-Term Household Food Insecurity Among Adults With Low Incomes: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The British Columbia Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupon Program (BC FMNCP) provides households with low incomes with coupons to purchase healthy foods from farmers' markets.

Objective: To examine the impact of the BC FMNCP on the short-term household food insecurity, malnutrition risk, mental well-being, sense of community (secondary outcomes), and subjective social status (exploratory outcome) of adults with low incomes post-intervention and 16 weeks post-intervention.

Design: Secondary analyses from a pragmatic randomized controlled trial conducted in 2019 that collected data at baseline, post-intervention, and 16 weeks post-intervention.

Long-term and trimester-specific effects of prenatal stress on the child gut microbiota.

Objective: Stress is common among pregnant individuals and is associated with an altered gut microbiota composition in infants. It is unknown if these compositional changes persist into the preschool years when the gut microbiota reaches an adult-like composition. This study aimed to investigate if indicators of prenatal stress (i.

Alterations in skeletal muscle morphology and mechanics in juvenile male Sprague Dawley rats exposed to a high-fat high-sucrose diet.

Although once a health concern largely considered in adults, the obesity epidemic is now prevalent in pediatric populations. While detrimental effects on skeletal muscle function have been seen in adulthood, the effects of obesity on skeletal muscle function in childhood is not clearly understood. The purpose of this study was to determine if the consumption of a high-fat high-sucrose (HFS) diet, starting in the post-weaning period, leads to changes in skeletal muscle morphology and mechanics after 14 weeks on the HFS diet.

Exploring associations between the gut microbiota and full-scale intelligence in preschool children.

The relationship between the gut microbiota and neurocognitive outcomes is becoming increasingly recognized; however, findings in humans are inconsistent. In addition, few studies have investigated the gut microbial metabolites that may mediate this relationship. The objective of this study was to investigate associations between full-scale intelligence (FSIQ) and the composition of the gut microbiota and metabolome in preschool children.

Select human milk oligosaccharide supplementation in post-weanling rats affects metabolism and gut microbiota into adulthood.

Objective: Feeding infants with human milk versus formula can produce long-lasting benefits, including reduced risk of inflammatory diseases. Most infant formulas do not contain human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which are important carbohydrates in human breast milk displaying prebiotic properties. The study's aim was to examine the effect of select HMOs in the post-weaning period.

Impact of a farmers' market healthy food subsidy on the diet quality of adults with low incomes in British Columbia, Canada: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Background: Adults with low incomes have lower diet quality than their higher income counterparts. In Canada, the British Columbia Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupon Program (FMNCP) provides coupons to low-income households to purchase healthy foods in farmers' markets.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the impact of the FMNCP on the diet quality of adults with low incomes.

The Chemo-Gut Study: A Cross-Sectional Survey Exploring Physical, Mental, and Gastrointestinal Health Outcomes in Cancer Survivors.

Background: Cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, may adversely affect gastrointestinal (GI), physical and mental health in survivors of cancer.

Objective: This study investigated associations between GI, mental and physical health outcomes, and cancer treatment-related variables, such as chemotherapy, in adult cancer survivors.

Methods: A one-time cross-sectional survey with patient-reported outcomes was used.

Unlocking a novel determinant of athletic performance: The role of the gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, and "biotics" in exercise.

The gut microbiota refers to the collection of trillions of intestinal microorganisms that modulate central aspects of health and disease through influential effects on host physiology. Recently, a connection has been made between the gut microbiota and exercise. Initial investigations demonstrated the beneficial effects of exercise on the gut microbiota, with cross-sectional studies revealing positive correlations between exercise-associated states, and healthy gut microbiota and exercise interventions showed post-intervention increases in the abundance of beneficial bacterial taxa.

Addition of Prebiotics to the Ketogenic Diet Improves Metabolic Profile but Does Not Affect Seizures in a Rodent Model of Infantile Spasms Syndrome.

The ketogenic diet (KD) is an effective treatment for infantile spasms syndrome (IS). However, the KD has implications for somatic growth, development, and the gut microbiota. The impact of incorporating a prebiotic fiber (PRE, oligofructose-enriched inulin, 0.

Exercise and Prebiotic Fiber Provide Gut Microbiota-Driven Benefit in a Survivor to Germ-Free Mouse Translational Model of Breast Cancer.

The gut microbiota plays a role in shaping overall host health and response to several cancer treatments. Factors, such as diet, exercise, and chemotherapy, can alter the gut microbiota. In the present study, the Alberta Cancer Exercise (ACE) program was investigated as a strategy to favorably modify the gut microbiota of breast cancer survivors who had received chemotherapy.

The Chemo-Gut Pilot Study: Associations between Gut Microbiota, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, and Psychosocial Health Outcomes in a Cross-Sectional Sample of Young Adult Cancer Survivors.

Chemotherapy adversely affects the gut microbiota, inducing dysbiosis, and negatively impacts gastrointestinal (GI) and psychosocial health during treatment, but little is known about the long-term effects or how these factors are related. Methods: This cross-sectional pilot study investigated the effects of chemotherapy on the gut microbiota, GI symptoms, and psychosocial outcomes in cancer survivors aged 18−39 years old, compared to healthy controls. Gut microbial diversity and composition were assessed from stool samples using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.