The gastrointestinal and microbiome impact of a resistant starch blend from potato, banana, and apple fibers: A randomized clinical trial using smart caps

Abstract

The gastrointestinal (GI) impact of fibers including resistant starch (RS) consumption depends on various types and amounts of fibers, the initial microbiome states, and accurate intake measurements. A randomized clinical trial evaluated the GI impact of varying doses of a novel resistant starch blend (RSB) with smart cap monitoring. RSB contained at least 50% RS and was a proprietary mixture of a potato starch, green banana flour, and apple fiber powder (a source of apple pectin, not resistant starch). The study design randomized participants to one of four arms: 10 g/day of potato starch (0 RSB), 10 g/day of RSB, 10 to 20 to 20 g/day of RSB or 10 to 20 to 30 g/day RSB for two-week intervals over 6 weeks. Results confirmed that while resistant starch of approximately 5 g per day improves GI symptoms at 2, 4, and 6 weeks, it did not demonstrate a detectable effect on short chain fatty acids. Increasing doses of the blend (RSB) led to a decrease in the diarrhea score. Using an estimate of total consumption of RSB based on smart cap recordings of container openings and protocol-specified doses of RSB, a reduction in the sleep disturbance score was associated with higher RSB dose. The exploratory microbiome evaluation demonstrated that among the 16S rRNA gene sequences most associated with the consumption of the novel blend RSB, two belong to taxa of notable interest to human health: Faecalibacterium and Akkermansia.

Consumption of Solnul™ Resistant Potato Starch Produces a Prebiotic Effect in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

“…Probiotic supplementation with strains of Bifidobacterium [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], supplementation with high amylose maize starch [ 49 ], and a blend of RS [ 37 ] has been shown to increase levels of Akkermansia , a genus associated with numerous health benefits [ 50 , 51 ]. We asked whether RPS might simultaneously increase the relative abundance of Akkermansia , potentially as a function of Bifidobacterium increases.…”

“…Clinical trials evaluating the effects of administering probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium also show increases in Akkermansia levels [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], suggesting that the RPS-dependent increases could be a consequence of Bifidobacterium activities or other RPS-dependent changes in the microbial environment. In the absence of Bifidobacterium increases, high doses of prebiotic inulin produced modest increases in Akkermansia in hemodialysis patients [ 55 ], as did high doses of high amylose maize starch in insulin-resistant individuals [ 49 ] and an RS blend containing RPS, green banana starch, and apple pectin [ 37 ], indicating that prebiotics may support Akkermansia independent of probiotic-associated bacterium increases. Intriguingly, the magnitude of the increase in the relative abundance of Akkermansia (0.026 +/− 0.011) was greater than the Bifidobacterium increase (0.015 +/− 0.006) for the 3.5 g RPS dose ( Figure 2 A and Figure 3 A).…”

“…Sequencing quality for read one (R1) and read 2 (R2) was determined using FastQC 0.11.5. Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia were identified a priori as candidate genera that would increase in response to RPS consumption [ 29 , 30 , 36 , 37 ].…”

Effect of resistant starch supplementation on the diversity and composition of human gut microbiota: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Gondalia et al [39], Walker et al [42], James et al [46], Salonen et al [41], Hald et al [43], Hanes et al [45],…”

Does resistant starch have an effect on intestinal modulation? An integrative review

“…Studies report that the use of resistant starch for the purpose of prevention and control of digestive disorders, as well as improvement of the glycemic profile, comes from the effects of the microbial metabolites produced during the fermentation of RS on intestinal peptides involved in the regulation of appetite, glucose and homeostasis of the body (BINDELS; WALTER; RAMER-TAIT, 2015;COSTA et al, 2019;HANES et al, 2022;HUGHES et al, 2021;KEMP et al, 2021;XU, JIANGBIN et al, 2020;ZHANG, LEI et al, 2019;ZHANG, YAWEN et al, 2020).…”