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Review
. 2020 Mar;177(6):1363-1381.
doi: 10.1111/bph.14871. Epub 2019 Dec 12.

Microbiota-dependent and -independent effects of dietary fibre on human health

Yang Cai  1 , Jelle Folkerts  2   3 , Gert Folkerts  1 , Marcus Maurer  3 , Saskia Braber  1
Affiliations
Review

Microbiota-dependent and -independent effects of dietary fibre on human health

Yang Cai et al. Br J Pharmacol. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Dietary fibre, such as indigestible oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, occurs in many foods and has gained considerable importance related to its beneficial effects on host health and specific diseases. Dietary fibre is neither digested nor absorbed in the small intestine and modulates the composition of the gut microbiota. New evidence indicates that dietary fibre also interacts directly with the epithelium and immune cells throughout the gastrointestinal tract by microbiota-independent effects. This review focuses on how dietary fibre improves human health and the reported health benefits that are connected to molecular pathways, in (a) a microbiota-independent manner, via interaction with specific surface receptors on epithelial and immune cells regulating intestinal barrier and immune function, and (b) a microbiota-dependent manner via maintaining intestinal homeostasis by promoting beneficial microbes, including Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, limiting the growth, adhesion, and cytotoxicity of pathogenic microbes, as well as stimulating fibre-derived microbial short-chain fatty acid production. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed section on The Pharmacology of Nutraceuticals. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v177.6/issuetoc.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Groups of dietary fibre discussed in this review. Dietary fibre is usually categorized based on their chemical structure
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanisms of microbiota‐dependent and ‐independent effects of dietary fibre. Dietary fibre promotes gut homeostasis by directly affecting the intestinal commensal microbiota composition (e.g., increased growth of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus), leading to increased barrier function, immunomodulatory effects, stimulating brain function and antimicrobial activities. Dietary fibre also protects gut homeostasis by inhibiting the cytotoxicity, adhesion or growth of pathogenic microorganisms. Dietary fibre is fermented into SCFAs by the microbiota and these SCFAs further maintain intestinal (immune) homeostasis by inhibiting HDAC, stimulating GPCRs or regulating the transcriptional activity. Importantly, dietary fibre exhibits a microbiota‐independent effect on the intestinal epithelium and different immune cells, including dendritic cells, macrophages, mast cells and lymphocytes. These microbiota‐independent effects include regulating epithelial cell maturation, enhancing epithelial barrier function and stimulating the intestinal immune system via specific PPRs on epithelial cells (EGFR, PPARγ and TLRs) and immune cells (TLRs and carbohydrate receptors) or via interaction with regulatory molecules (e.g. AMPK). AMPK, AMP‐activated protein kinase; AhR, aryl hydrocarbon receptor; EGFR, EGF receptor; HDAC, histone deacetylase; MCT1, monocarboxylate transporter 1; SCFAs, short‐chain fatty acids; SMCT1, sodium‐coupled monocarboxylate transporter 1; TLRs, toll‐like receptors
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