TY - JOUR
T1 - The Gut Microbiota, Food Science, and Human Nutrition
T2 - A Timely Marriage
AU - Barratt, Michael J.
AU - Lebrilla, Carlito
AU - Shapiro, Howard Yana
AU - Gordon, Jeffrey I.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2017/8/9
Y1 - 2017/8/9
N2 - Analytic advances are enabling more precise definitions of the molecular composition of key food staples incorporated into contemporary diets and how the nutrient landscapes of these staples vary as a function of cultivar and food processing methods. This knowledge, combined with insights about the interrelationship between consumer microbiota configurations and biotransformation of food ingredients, should have a number of effects on agriculture, food production, and strategies for improving the nutritional value of foods and health status. These effects include decision-making about which cultivars of current or future food staples to incorporate into existing and future food systems, and which components of waste streams from current or future food manufacturing processes have nutritional value that is worth capturing. They can also guide which technologies should be applied, or need to be developed, to produce foods that support efficient microbial biotransformation of their ingredients into metabolic products that sustain health. In this Perspective, Barratt et al. propose the integration of preclinical models, food science technologies, and human studies to generate detailed knowledge of the biotransformation of food ingredients by consumers’ gut microbiota. This could alter traditional definitions of nutrient content and inform global efforts designed to produce affordable, healthier foods.
AB - Analytic advances are enabling more precise definitions of the molecular composition of key food staples incorporated into contemporary diets and how the nutrient landscapes of these staples vary as a function of cultivar and food processing methods. This knowledge, combined with insights about the interrelationship between consumer microbiota configurations and biotransformation of food ingredients, should have a number of effects on agriculture, food production, and strategies for improving the nutritional value of foods and health status. These effects include decision-making about which cultivars of current or future food staples to incorporate into existing and future food systems, and which components of waste streams from current or future food manufacturing processes have nutritional value that is worth capturing. They can also guide which technologies should be applied, or need to be developed, to produce foods that support efficient microbial biotransformation of their ingredients into metabolic products that sustain health. In this Perspective, Barratt et al. propose the integration of preclinical models, food science technologies, and human studies to generate detailed knowledge of the biotransformation of food ingredients by consumers’ gut microbiota. This could alter traditional definitions of nutrient content and inform global efforts designed to produce affordable, healthier foods.
KW - agricultural sustainability
KW - biochemical characterization of food staples
KW - designing food systems
KW - dietary glycans
KW - food science
KW - gnotobiotic animal models
KW - gut microbiota
KW - microbial biotransformation of food ingredients
KW - microbiota-directed foods
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85030449573&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.chom.2017.07.006
DO - 10.1016/j.chom.2017.07.006
M3 - Review article
C2 - 28799899
AN - SCOPUS:85030449573
SN - 1931-3128
VL - 22
SP - 134
EP - 141
JO - Cell Host and Microbe
JF - Cell Host and Microbe
IS - 2
ER -