LB008 - DIGESTIVE KINETICS OF CARBOHYDRATE BLENDS SHAPE FERMENTATIVE METABOLISM AND MICROBIAL FUNCTION WITH RELEVANCE FOR METABOLIC NUTRITION

LB008

DIGESTIVE KINETICS OF CARBOHYDRATE BLENDS SHAPE FERMENTATIVE METABOLISM AND MICROBIAL FUNCTION WITH RELEVANCE FOR METABOLIC NUTRITION

J. M. López-Pedrosa^1,*, A. Sabag-Daigle², M. T. Garcia-Corcoles¹, M. Manzano¹, R. Rueda¹

¹R&D, Abbott Nutrition, Granada, Spain, ²R&D, Abbott Nutrition, Columbus, United States

Rationale: Carbohydrate (CHO) digestion kinetics influence metabolic responses beyond glycaemia through colonic fermentation and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production. Their impact across metabolic phenotypes remains unclear.

Methods: A slow-digestible CHO blend (SDC) was compared with a rapidly digestible CHO blend (RDC) using in vivo obese and diabetic rodent models and ex vivo fermentations from healthy, obese and diabetic adult donors (Colon-on-a-plate®) to assess metabolic, microbial and metabolomic responses.

Results: Compared with RDC, SDC reduced body weight gain by 8% (p<0.01) in obese rats and improved glycemic control in diabetic rats, reducing glucose area under the curve by 25% (p<0.01). SDC increased circulating glucagon-like peptide-1 by 108% (p<0.01), attenuated diabetes-induced muscle loss by 9% (p<0.05), and increased cecal SCFAs 4.4-fold (p<0.01), despite reduced microbial diversity. In ex vivo human fermentations, SDC increased total SCFAs in healthy, obese and diabetic donors by 16%, 13%, and 15%, respectively, particularly acetate and propionate, indicating enhanced and sustained fermentative activity. RDC primarily affected pathways related to nucleotide catabolism, aromatic compounds, and tryptophan metabolism, profiles commonly associated with inflammatory and dysregulated metabolic states, whereas SDC modulated energy-related pathways and reduced metabolites linked to disease progression, including lithocholic acid (−7%), trimethylamine-N-oxide (−10%) and branched-chain fatty acids (−24%), with enrichment of genera associated with metabolic health (e.g. Parabacteroides, Fusicatenibacter).

Conclusion: SDC improved metabolic outcomes and promoted SCFA-driven fermentation with minimal microbiota restructuring, highlighting CHO digestion kinetics and quality as key determinants of metabolic nutrition.

Disclosure of Interest: J. M. López-Pedrosa Other: employee of the Abbott Nutrition R&D, A. Sabag-Daigle Other: employee of the Abbott Nutrition R&D, M. Garcia-Corcoles Other: employee of the Abbott Nutrition R&D, M. Manzano Other: employee of the Abbott Nutrition R&D, R. Rueda Other: employee of the Abbott Nutrition R&D