Gut enterotypes are stable during Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus probiotic supplementation

Eliot N. Haddad, Kameron Y. Sugino, Robin M. Tucker, Sarah S. Comstock

Objective
The purpose of this study was to determine whether probiotics (with or without cayenne pepper) alter gut bacterial community composition and if these changes are associated with the original gut enterotype of the individual.

Methods
A total of 27 adult participants provided three fecal samples: prior to probiotic treatment (baseline), post probiotic treatment (probiotic), and post probiotic plus cayenne pepper treatment (probiotic + cayenne). DNA was extracted, amplified, and the V4 region sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform using V2 chemistry. Sequence reads were processed in mothur and assigned using the SILVA reference by phylotype.

Results
Three enterotypes characterized the study population— Bacteroides (B; n = 6), Prevotella (P; n = 11), and Ruminoccocus (R; n = 10). There was no significant increase in probiotic genera in fecal samples after treatment periods. Alpha diversity scores were significantly lower in B-type but not in P- or R-type individuals after probiotic treatment. For the majority of individuals, their enterotype remained constant regardless of probiotic (and cayenne) treatment.

Conclusions
These findings suggest that baseline gut community characteristics and enterotype classification influence responsiveness to probiotic treatment, but that enterotype is stable across administration of prebiotic and probiotics.

Reference
Haddad, EN, Sugino, KY, Tucker, RM, Comstock, SS. Gut enterotypes are stable during Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus probiotic supplementation. Journal of Food Science, 85(5),1596-1604. 2020.