A pilot study of dietary fibres on pathogen growth in an colonic model reveals their potential ability to limit vancomycin-resistant expansion.

: Dietary fibre is important for shaping gut microbiota. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the impact of dietary fibres on pathogen performance in the presence of gut microbiota. : In an gut model, pooled faecal samples were spiked with a cocktail of representative gastrointestinal pathogens and fermented with yeast β-glucan for 24 hours, after which 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and short-chain and branched-chain fatty acid (SCFA and BCFA) analyses were performed. In addition, oat β-glucan, arabinoxylan, yeast β-glucan, and galactooligosaccharides were each tested against individual representative pathogens and pathogen growth was assessed via qPCR. Glucose served as a control carbon source. : Based on 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, yeast β-glucan selected for higher proportions of ( = 0.0005, ~6 fold) and ( = 0.005, ~3.6 fold) while species of ( = 0.021, ~2.8 fold) and ( = 0.007, ~ 15.7-fold) were higher in glucose. Pathogen relative abundance did not differ between glucose and yeast β-glucan. In the absence of pathogens, higher production of BCFAs ( = 0.002) and SCFAs ( = 0.002) fatty acids was observed for fibre group(s). For individual pathogens, yeast β-glucan increased growth of , , and ( < 0.05), arabinoxylan increased ( < 0.05). Tested fibres decreased vancomycin-resistant ( < 0.05), with yeast β-glucan causing a 1-log reduction ( < 0.01), while galactooligosaccharides decreased . ( < 0.05). : Tested fibres differentially influenced the growth of pathogens, but yeast β-glucan could represent a dietary strategy to help limit vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) expansion in the gut.