AUTHOR=Christensen Lars , Hjorth Mads F. , Krych Lukasz , Licht Tine Rask , Lauritzen Lotte , Magkos Faidon , Roager Henrik M. 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.947349

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.947349

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Salivary amylase (AMY1) gene copy number (CN) and <italic>Prevotella</italic> 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.</p></sec><sec><title>Objective</title><p>We hypothesized that <italic>Prevotella</italic> 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.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We reanalyzed data from two independent randomized <italic>ad libitum</italic> wholegrain interventions (fiber intake ∼33 g/d for 6–8 weeks), to investigate the relationship between baseline <italic>Prevotella</italic> abundance and body fat loss among healthy, overweight participants stratified into two groups by median AMY1 CN. Individuals with no detected <italic>Prevotella</italic> spp. were excluded from the main analysis.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>In both studies, individuals with low AMY1 CN exhibited a positive correlation between baseline <italic>Prevotella</italic> abundance and fat loss after consuming the wholegrain diet (<italic>r</italic> &gt; 0.5, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), but no correlation among participants with high AMY1 CN (<italic>P</italic> ≥ 0.6). Following consumption of the refined wheat control diets, there were no associations between baseline <italic>Prevotella</italic> abundance and changes in body fat in any of the AMY1 groups.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>These results suggest that <italic>Prevotella</italic> abundance together with AMY1 CN can help predict fat loss in response to <italic>ad libitum</italic> wholegrain diets, highlighting the potential of these biomarkers in personalized obesity management.</p></sec>