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. 2022 Aug 22:9:947349.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.947349. eCollection 2022.

Prevotella abundance and salivary amylase gene copy number predict fat loss in response to wholegrain diets

Lars Christensen  1 , Mads F Hjorth  2 , Lukasz Krych  3 , Tine Rask Licht  4 , Lotte Lauritzen  1 , Faidon Magkos  1 , Henrik M Roager  1
Affiliations

Prevotella abundance and salivary amylase gene copy number predict fat loss in response to wholegrain diets

Lars Christensen et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: Salivary amylase (AMY1) gene copy number (CN) and Prevotella abundance in the gut are involved in carbohydrate digestion in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract, respectively; and have been suggested as prognostic biomarkers for weight loss among overweight individuals consuming diets rich in fiber and wholegrains.

Objective: We hypothesized that Prevotella abundance would be linked to greater loss of body fat after wholegrain consumption among individuals with low AMY1 CN, but not in those with high AMY1 CN.

Methods: We reanalyzed data from two independent randomized ad libitum wholegrain interventions (fiber intake ∼33 g/d for 6-8 weeks), to investigate the relationship between baseline Prevotella abundance and body fat loss among healthy, overweight participants stratified into two groups by median AMY1 CN. Individuals with no detected Prevotella spp. were excluded from the main analysis.

Results: In both studies, individuals with low AMY1 CN exhibited a positive correlation between baseline Prevotella abundance and fat loss after consuming the wholegrain diet (r > 0.5, P < 0.05), but no correlation among participants with high AMY1 CN (P ≥ 0.6). Following consumption of the refined wheat control diets, there were no associations between baseline Prevotella abundance and changes in body fat in any of the AMY1 groups.

Conclusion: These results suggest that Prevotella abundance together with AMY1 CN can help predict fat loss in response to ad libitum wholegrain diets, highlighting the potential of these biomarkers in personalized obesity management.

Keywords: AMY1; Prevotella; dietary fiber; enterotypes; microbiota; obesity; weight loss; wholegrains.

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Conflict of interest statement

MFH is co-inventor on a pending provisional patent application for the use of biomarkers to predict responses to weight-loss diets. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow of participants randomized to wholegrain (WG) diets and with baseline Prevotella abundance and AMY1 gene copy number data for study 1 (15) and study 2 (2). WG, wholegrain.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Correlations between baseline Prevotella abundance and change in body fat percentage (difference between endpoint and baseline) during two different wholegrain interventions in people with low and high AMY1 gene copy number. Study 1 (n = 34): (A) low AMY1 (n = 17) and (B) high AMY1 (n = 17) groups; and Study 2 (n = 36): (C) low AMY1 (n = 18) and (D) high AMY1 (n = 18) groups. Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r) and corresponding P-values are shown. Linear regression are depicted in solid red lines and respective 95% confidence intervals are drawn in dashed lines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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