About this Research Topic
Dietary fibers are a group of non-digestible carbohydrates (with 3 or more monomeric units) that confer beneficial physiological effects on human health. Differing by solubility, fermentability, and their structure, dietary fibers function through diverse mechanisms and pathways, and benefit human health both directly and/or indirectly.
The gut microbiome plays a critical role in modulating the metabolic, digestive, and immune health of the host and, when disturbed, may lead to the development of diseases. Fermentable dietary fibers provide the main source of energy for the colonocytes and gut microbes. Microbial fermentation of dietary fibers generates metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, branched-chain amino acids, and neuro-active chemical substances, which act as paracrine or endocrine signaling molecules in initiating physiological responses. Despite a considerable number of studies on dietary fibers and their role in human health, the individual variation on the gut microbiome has introduced complexity when drawing accurate conclusions. Therefore, new interventional studies or mechanistic investigations on dietary fibers and metabolic, digestive, and immune health will advance our knowledge of the function of dietary fibers in these areas. An augmenting pool of research will also enable health professionals to provide dietary recommendations based on health needs.
With this, we welcome original research articles and state-of-art reviews including but not limited to the following topics:
• The efficacy of dietary fiber supplementation in metabolic, digestive, and immune health-related outcomes (clinical trials and studies in animal models).
• Associations between dietary fiber intake and metabolic, digestive, and immune health-related outcomes or their surrogate biomarkers (observational studies).
• Reviews of the current trends of dietary fibers, global regulation, and their applications in metabolic, digestive, and immune health.
• Development of novel dietary fibers and their implication in metabolic, digestive, and immune health.
The gut microbiome plays a critical role in modulating the metabolic, digestive, and immune health of the host and, when disturbed, may lead to the development of diseases. Fermentable dietary fibers provide the main source of energy for the colonocytes and gut microbes. Microbial fermentation of dietary fibers generates metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, branched-chain amino acids, and neuro-active chemical substances, which act as paracrine or endocrine signaling molecules in initiating physiological responses. Despite a considerable number of studies on dietary fibers and their role in human health, the individual variation on the gut microbiome has introduced complexity when drawing accurate conclusions. Therefore, new interventional studies or mechanistic investigations on dietary fibers and metabolic, digestive, and immune health will advance our knowledge of the function of dietary fibers in these areas. An augmenting pool of research will also enable health professionals to provide dietary recommendations based on health needs.
With this, we welcome original research articles and state-of-art reviews including but not limited to the following topics:
• The efficacy of dietary fiber supplementation in metabolic, digestive, and immune health-related outcomes (clinical trials and studies in animal models).
• Associations between dietary fiber intake and metabolic, digestive, and immune health-related outcomes or their surrogate biomarkers (observational studies).
• Reviews of the current trends of dietary fibers, global regulation, and their applications in metabolic, digestive, and immune health.
• Development of novel dietary fibers and their implication in metabolic, digestive, and immune health.
Keywords: Dietary fiber, metabolic health, digestive health, immune health
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