P792 - IMPACT OF ONE-TIME ALGAE CONSUMPTION ON THE HUMAN GUT MICROBIOME

P792

IMPACT OF ONE-TIME ALGAE CONSUMPTION ON THE HUMAN GUT MICROBIOME

Z. Wang^1,*, M. Scherbinek¹, B. Brandl¹, T. Skurk¹

¹ZIEL-Institute for Food and Health, Core Facility Humans Studies, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

 

Rationale: Algae are considered a promising alternative protein source due to their high nutritional value and ecological sustainability. Furthermore, algae are proposed to exert beneficial effects on the gut microbiota, potentially affecting human metabolism. This study evaluated the effects of a single algae-containing bread roll on the human gut microbiome in the context of a controlled dietary intervention.

 

 

 

 

Methods: We conducted a monocentric, randomised, placebo-controlled, crossover study involving 12 healthy participants (6m/6f; 18-40 y). Each participant consumed 12g of microalgae incorporated into bread rolls as the test meal. The order of test and control meals was randomised. Bread rolls without microalgae powder served as the control. To facilitate precise stool sample collection, participants ingested 1g of blue food coloring dissolved in water along with the bread rolls. Blue-colored stool samples were collected and subjected to shotgun sequencing for microbiome profiling. In addition, blood and urine samples were taken at defined time points before and after meal consumption.

 

Results: Baseline anthropometric characteristics indicated an average age of 25.40 ± 5.21 years and a mean BMI of 22.34 ± 3.22 kg/m². Preliminary processing of the metagenomic data using metags platform from Technical University of Munich,indicated a no obvious shift of gut microbiota after one-time algae consumption. Alpha diversity, assessed via the Shannon Index, did not differ significantly between the test and the control meals. Similarly, beta diversity analysis showed no distinct clustering between conditions. Considering taxonomic shifts, there was no significant difference on a genera level.

 

 

Conclusion: One-time algae consumption did not show influence on gut microbiota composition. This might indicate a comparable nutritional value between different protein sources from a diverse diet. A ongoing study is now evaluating long-term exposure.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared