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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2022 May 10;23(10):5328.
doi: 10.3390/ijms23105328.

A 4-Week Diet Low or High in Advanced Glycation Endproducts Has Limited Impact on Gut Microbial Composition in Abdominally Obese Individuals: The deAGEing Trial

Armand M A Linkens  1   2 , Niels van Best  3   4 , Petra M Niessen  1   2 , Nicole E G Wijckmans  5   6 , Erica E C de Goei  5   6 , Jean L J M Scheijen  1   2 , Martien C J M van Dongen  5 , Christel C J A W van Gool  5 , Willem M de Vos  6   7 , Alfons J H M Houben  1   2 , Coen D A Stehouwer  1   2 , Simone J M P Eussen  2   5   8 , John Penders  3   4   8 , Casper G Schalkwijk  1   2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A 4-Week Diet Low or High in Advanced Glycation Endproducts Has Limited Impact on Gut Microbial Composition in Abdominally Obese Individuals: The deAGEing Trial

Armand M A Linkens et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Dietary advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), abundantly present in Westernized diets, are linked to negative health outcomes, but their impact on the gut microbiota has not yet been well investigated in humans. We investigated the effects of a 4-week isocaloric and macronutrient-matched diet low or high in AGEs on the gut microbial composition of 70 abdominally obese individuals in a double-blind parallel-design randomized controlled trial (NCT03866343). Additionally, we investigated the cross-sectional associations between the habitual intake of dietary dicarbonyls, reactive precursors to AGEs, and the gut microbial composition, as assessed by 16S rRNA amplicon-based sequencing. Despite a marked percentage difference in AGE intake, we observed no differences in microbial richness and the general community structure. Only the Anaerostipes spp. had a relative abundance >0.5% and showed differential abundance (0.5 versus 1.11%; p = 0.028, after low- or high-AGE diet, respectively). While the habitual intake of dicarbonyls was not associated with microbial richness or a general community structure, the intake of 3-deoxyglucosone was especially associated with an abundance of several genera. Thus, a 4-week diet low or high in AGEs has a limited impact on the gut microbial composition of abdominally obese humans, paralleling its previously observed limited biological consequences. The effects of dietary dicarbonyls on the gut microbiota composition deserve further investigation.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; RCT; UPLC-MS/MS; alpha diversity; beta diversity; dietary advanced glycation end products; dietary dicarbonyls; differential abundance; gut microbiota.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The sponsors had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CONSORT flow diagram for RCT and cross-sectional analyses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Richness (left) and gut microbial diversity (right) before and after a 4-week diet low or high in AGEs. Sample sizes: low-AGE group n = 34, high-AGE group n = 36. Within-group differences were tested with a paired samples t-test. Treatment effects were tested with a one-way ANCOVA with adjustment for age, sex, and the baseline variable of interest.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Measures of beta-diversity before (left column) and after (right column) a low- or high-AGE diet in abdominally obese individuals. Upper row: principle coordinate analysis of Bray–Curtis dissimilarity. Lower row: Principle component analysis of the Aitchison distance. Sample sizes: low-AGE group n = 34, high-AGE group n = 36.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative abundance of differentially abundant genera after a 4-week low- (in green) or high-AGE diet (in red) in abdominally obese individuals. n = 34 for the low-AGE group and n = 36 for the high-AGE group. Statistical significance was assessed using beta binomial regression with adjustments for age and sex. Please note that the difference in the relative abundance of the Christensenellaeceae_R-7 Group only became statistically significant after exclusion of a non-compliant participant of the low-AGE group. This participant was included in all other comparisons. All comparisons became statistically non-significant after correction for multiple testing.
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