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10.3390/microorganisms13112428
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Article

Impact of Diet on Gut Microbiota in Diverticular Disease of the Colon: An Exploratory Retrospective Study

by
Antonio Tursi
1,2,*,
Giorgia Procaccianti
3,
Federica D’Amico
3,
Rudi De Bastiani
4,
Leonardo Allegretta
5,
Natale Antonino
6,
Elisabetta Baldi
4,
Carlo Casamassima
7,
Giovanni Casella
4,
Mario Ciuffi
4,
Marco De Bastiani
4,
Lorenzo Lazzarotto
4,
Claudio Licci
8,
Maurizio Mancuso
4,
Antonio Penna
9,
Giuseppe Pranzo
10,
Guido Sanna
4,
Cesare Tosetti
4,
Maria Zamparella
4,
Marcello Picchio
11 and
Silvia Turroni
3,12add Show full author list remove Hide full author list
1
Territorial Gastroenterology Service, Barletta-Andria-Trani Local Health Agency, 76123 Andria, Italy
2
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, School of Medicine, Catholic University, 00168 Rome, Italy
3
Unit of Microbiome Science and Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
4
GIGA-CP Italian Association for Primary Care Gastroenterology, 32032 Feltre, Italy
5
Division of Gastroenterology, “Santa Caterina Novella” Hospital, 73013 Galatina, Italy
6
Independent Researcher, 76011 Bisceglie, Italy
7
Independent Researcher, 76017 San Ferdinando di Puglia, Italy
8
Independent Researcher, 70043 Monopoli, Italy
9
Independent Researcher, 70122 Bari, Italy
10
Ambulatory for IBD Treatment, “Valle D’Itria” Hospital, 74015 Martina Franca, Italy
11
Division of Surgery, “P. Colombo” Hospital, Velletri, 00049 Rome, Italy
12
IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
 
add Show full affiliation list
 
remove Hide full affiliation list
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Microorganisms 2025, 13(11), 2428; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13112428
Submission received: 31 August 2025 / Revised: 19 October 2025 / Accepted: 20 October 2025 / Published: 23 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Host-Gut Microbiota)
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Abstract

Symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD) is the primary clinical manifestation of diverticular disease (DD). Although gut microbiota (GM) perturbation and dietary habits are considered important factors in the development of the disease, there is currently a lack of data on the potential relationship between diet, GM profile and SUDD. An exploratory retrospective study was conducted in a SUDD cohort of 47 patients to investigate this relationship; a diverticulosis cohort of 19 patients served as the control group. Patients were stratified by their self-reported dietary habits, i.e., Mediterranean diet, predominantly plant-based diet or omnivorous diet. GM was profiled using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of fecal swabs. SUDD patients following a Mediterranean or predominantly plant-based diet showed higher alpha diversity and enrichment of known fibre degraders and short-chain fatty acid producers, such as members of the Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Oscillospiraceae and Prevotellaceae families. This suggests that their gut (and whole-body) health is less impaired. In contrast, those following an omnivorous diet showed an increased presence of pro-inflammatory taxa, including the mucus degrader R. torques, which suggests impaired gut barrier function and potential systemic implications. Similar associations between GM profile and dietary habits were found when considering SUDD patients with moderate abdominal pain severity (according to visual analogue scale, VAS) and those scored as DICA 1 according to the endoscopic severity of the disease. However, no such associations or trends were observed in SUDD patients scored as DICA 2, which suggests that diet may be unable to impact GM dysbiosis as SUDD severity increases. Despite the study’s limitations, primarily its retrospective design and related biases, our findings suggest that other GM modulation tools should be employed in more severe cases of SUDD to reverse dysbiosis while alleviating symptoms.
Keywords: diet; symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD); gut microbiota; Diverticular Inflammation and Complication Assessment (DICA) classification diet; symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD); gut microbiota; Diverticular Inflammation and Complication Assessment (DICA) classification

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MDPI and ACS Style

Tursi, A.; Procaccianti, G.; D’Amico, F.; De Bastiani, R.; Allegretta, L.; Antonino, N.; Baldi, E.; Casamassima, C.; Casella, G.; Ciuffi, M.; et al. Impact of Diet on Gut Microbiota in Diverticular Disease of the Colon: An Exploratory Retrospective Study. Microorganisms 2025, 13, 2428. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13112428

AMA Style

Tursi A, Procaccianti G, D’Amico F, De Bastiani R, Allegretta L, Antonino N, Baldi E, Casamassima C, Casella G, Ciuffi M, et al. Impact of Diet on Gut Microbiota in Diverticular Disease of the Colon: An Exploratory Retrospective Study. Microorganisms. 2025; 13(11):2428. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13112428

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tursi, Antonio, Giorgia Procaccianti, Federica D’Amico, Rudi De Bastiani, Leonardo Allegretta, Natale Antonino, Elisabetta Baldi, Carlo Casamassima, Giovanni Casella, Mario Ciuffi, and et al. 2025. "Impact of Diet on Gut Microbiota in Diverticular Disease of the Colon: An Exploratory Retrospective Study" Microorganisms 13, no. 11: 2428. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13112428

APA Style

Tursi, A., Procaccianti, G., D’Amico, F., De Bastiani, R., Allegretta, L., Antonino, N., Baldi, E., Casamassima, C., Casella, G., Ciuffi, M., De Bastiani, M., Lazzarotto, L., Licci, C., Mancuso, M., Penna, A., Pranzo, G., Sanna, G., Tosetti, C., Zamparella, M., ... Turroni, S. (2025). Impact of Diet on Gut Microbiota in Diverticular Disease of the Colon: An Exploratory Retrospective Study. Microorganisms, 13(11), 2428. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13112428

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