Bioactive Food Ingredients Shaping Gut Microbiota: Composition, Function, and Inter-Individual Variability

Dear Colleagues,

Human gut microbiota is composed of trillions of bacterial cells belonging to thousands of species; however, only a few hundred of these species can coexist in an individual's gut microbiota. Recent investigations have focused on the consistent and individualized responses of gut microbiota to bioactive food ingredients, such as polysaccharides, proteins, and polyphenols. Mechanistically, these food components are not uniformly fermented by different gut microbes, as evidenced by significant interindividual variability across fermentation ratios, metabolite production, microbiota composition, and host immune and glycemic responses. Notably, these food components can have both general and specific impacts on the structure and metabolic functions of the gut microbiome in different individuals, providing a theoretical basis for personalized nutritional interventions. Diet-related metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, colitis, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, are associated with dysbiotic gut microbiota, which represent promising therapeutic targets. Bioactive food ingredients are deemed safe, cost-effective, and can be readily included in diets, offering a non-invasive therapeutic approach for dysbiotic gut microbiota. However, their effectiveness shows variability among individuals due to significant differences in individual gut microbiota. Thus, exploring microbiota responses to bioactive food components could provide valuable insights for developing microbiome-targeted nutritional interventions.

Dr. Songtao Fan
Prof. Dr. Kexue Zhu
Guest Editors

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