Impact of Dietary Lipids on Colonic Function and Microbiota: An Experimental Approach Involving Orlistat-Induced Fat Malabsorption in Human Volunteers.

Objectives: High-fat diets alter gut microbiota and barrier function, inducing metabolic endotoxemia and low-grade inflammation. Whether these effects are due to the high dietary lipid content or to the concomitant decrease of carbohydrate intake is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether higher amounts of dietary fat reaching the colon (through orlistat administration) affect the colonic ecosystem in healthy volunteers and the effect of the prebiotic oligofructose (OF) in this model.