Maternal prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation modifies the microbiome and short chain fatty acid profile of both mother and infant

Affiliations

¹ Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; The Western Australian Human Microbiome Collaboration Centre, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6027, Australia. Electronic address: Jacquelyn.Jones@ecu.edu.au.
² Centre for Integrative Metabolomics and Computational Biology, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.
³ Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.
⁴ Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, the Netherlands; Nutricia Research, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
⁵ Division of Inflammation and Infection, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden.
⁶ Joondalup Health Campus, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia; School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
⁷ Joondalup Health Campus, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia; School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; School of Medical & Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.
⁸ Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
⁹ School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Department of Immunology and Dermatology, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Nova Institute for Health, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
¹⁰ School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia.
¹¹ Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; The Western Australian Human Microbiome Collaboration Centre, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6027, Australia; Centre for Integrative Metabolomics and Computational Biology, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia. Electronic address: C.Christophersen@ecu.edu.au.

PMID: 38452522
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2024.02.030

Free article

Randomized Controlled Trial

Maternal prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation modifies the microbiome and short chain fatty acid profile of both mother and infant

Jacquelyn M Jones et al. Clin Nutr. 2024 Apr.

Free article

. 2024 Apr;43(4):969-980.

doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2024.02.030. Epub 2024 Mar 1.

Affiliations

¹ Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; The Western Australian Human Microbiome Collaboration Centre, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6027, Australia. Electronic address: Jacquelyn.Jones@ecu.edu.au.
² Centre for Integrative Metabolomics and Computational Biology, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.
³ Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.
⁴ Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, the Netherlands; Nutricia Research, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
⁵ Division of Inflammation and Infection, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden.
⁶ Joondalup Health Campus, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia; School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
⁷ Joondalup Health Campus, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia; School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; School of Medical & Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia.
⁸ Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
⁹ School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Department of Immunology and Dermatology, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Nova Institute for Health, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
¹⁰ School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia.
¹¹ Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia; The Western Australian Human Microbiome Collaboration Centre, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6027, Australia; Centre for Integrative Metabolomics and Computational Biology, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia. Electronic address: C.Christophersen@ecu.edu.au.

PMID: 38452522
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2024.02.030

Abstract

Background & aims: Improving maternal gut health in pregnancy and lactation is a potential strategy to improve immune and metabolic health in offspring and curtail the rising rates of inflammatory diseases linked to alterations in gut microbiota. Here, we investigate the effects of a maternal prebiotic supplement (galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides), ingested daily from <21 weeks' gestation to six months' post-partum, in a double-blinded, randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Methods: Stool samples were collected at multiple timepoints from 74 mother-infant pairs as part of a larger, double-blinded, randomised controlled allergy intervention trial. The participants were randomised to one of two groups; with one group receiving 14.2 g per day of prebiotic powder (galacto-oligosaccharides GOS and fructo-oligosaccharides FOS in ratio 9:1), and the other receiving a placebo powder consisting of 8.7 g per day of maltodextrin. The faecal microbiota of both mother and infants were assessed based on the analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA gene (V4 region) sequences, and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations in stool.

Results: Significant differences in the maternal microbiota profiles between baseline and either 28-weeks' or 36-weeks' gestation were found in the prebiotic supplemented women. Infant microbial beta-diversity also significantly differed between prebiotic and placebo groups at 12-months of age. Supplementation was associated with increased abundance of commensal Bifidobacteria in the maternal microbiota, and a reduction in the abundance of Negativicutes in both maternal and infant microbiota. There were also changes in SCFA concentrations with maternal prebiotics supplementation, including significant differences in acetic acid concentration between intervention and control groups from 20 to 28-weeks' gestation.

Conclusion: Maternal prebiotic supplementation of 14.2 g per day GOS/FOS was found to favourably modify both the maternal and the developing infant gut microbiome. These results build on our understanding of the importance of maternal diet during pregnancy, and indicate that it is possible to intervene and modify the development of the infant microbiome by dietary modulation of the maternal gut microbiome.

Keywords: Early-life development; Infant gut microbiome; Maternal diet; Maternal gut microbiome; Prebiotic supplementation; Short chain fatty acids.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest J.G. is a part-time employee of Danone-Nutricia research and receives research funding/grants from EU, Dutch Government, Bill Gates Foundation, public and private research funding from the Netherlands and some companies such as, Danone-Nutricia research, Nutricia research foundation, Friesland Campina, DSM. M.C.J. has received funding for a clinical trial and honoraria for lectures from BioGaia AB, as well as consultant fees and travel support from Danone-Nutricia and Abigo Medical. S.L.P. has received speaker's fees from Danone-Nutricia. The authors D.J.P., J.K., R.S., J.M.J, C.T.C, S.N.R, M.M-D, and D.S. declare no conflict of interest. The funders have no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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Maternal prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation modifies the microbiome and short chain fatty acid profile of both mother and infant

Affiliations

Maternal prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation modifies the microbiome and short chain fatty acid profile of both mother and infant

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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