Tibicos differentially affects faecal microbiota composition and short-chain fatty acid production in prediabetic and healthy adults in a simulated digestive tract

Prediabetes and obesity are increasingly prevalent chronic pro-inflammatory conditions driven by gut microbiota dysfunction. To assist in the management of such diseases, researchers are interested in gut-microbiota targeted dietary interventions. Tibicos is a plant-based fermented beverage shown to modulate gut microbiota, with anti-hyperglycaemic and anti-inflammatory effects in in vitro and in vivo human and animal studies. We investigated the effects of ginger-cayenne tibicos on healthy and prediabetic pooled faecal microbiota, with a static in vitro digestion/ colonic fermentation model using faeces from adult overweight/ obese donors with prediabetes, and healthy donors (n=3 per group). Changes in faecal microbiota composition and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production were determined. Baseline prediabetic faeces was less abundant in butyrate-producing bacterial taxa and SCFAs. In vitro colonic fermentation Time and Status (prediabetic vs. healthy) were the major determinants of shifts in faecal microbial community abundance and diversity. Tibicos reduced beneficial bacterial taxa loss in prediabetic faecal microbiota. However, tibicos improved the functional capacity of healthy faecal microbiota to a larger extent, with increased SCFA production and significant correlations between bacterial species and SCFAs. The differential shifts in composition and SCFAs observed during simulated gastrointestinal transit suggest that ginger-cayenne tibicos has the potential to beneficially modulate human faecal microbiota in both healthy and prediabetic participants. This study indicates that ginger-cayenne tibicos may be a useful tool in the management of prediabetes and obesity in humans and provides pilot data for the development of larger clinical trials.