(P27-048-24) Consumption of Pectin Associates With Microbiome α Diversity in Infants and Toddlers

Objectives: Pectin is a soluble dietary fiber commonly found in fruits and can be fermented by specific gut microbes. Today very little is known on the role of dietary pectin in diversification of the gut microbiota with the introduction of complementary foods in young children (0-3 years). Here, we explored the impact of pectin consumption on the microbiome diversity in infants and toddlers.

Methods: Dietary intake data and microbiome diversity of children aged 6 to 36 months from the BCP-e, a cohort conducted in the U.S., were used in this study. Pectin intake was estimated by one day 24h recall within 3 days prior to fecal sample collection. Shannon index was used as a microbiome diversity measure. General linear model was applied to analyze the association between pectin intake and microbiome diversity. Furthermore, an in vitro experiment was performed to test the role of pectin, in which the fecal samples from 6- and 12-month-old children were incubated with 2 g/L of apple pectin, wheat arabinoxylan, inulin and non-fiber control for 24h, respectively. Fermentation parameters and microbiome composition were measured using the SIFR^® technology.

Results: >In total 256 subjects were included in the cohort data analysis. A positive association was found between the amount of pectin intake (g/day) and Shannon index (coefficient=0.08, p=0.018), adjusted for energy and age in months. A similar positive association was also obtained for the proportion of pectin in the total soluble fiber intake (coefficient=0.03, p=0.028). In the in vitro experiment, among the 100 most abundant species measured, pectin incubation promoted the growth of the largest number of species (21) compared to other tested fibers, such as inulin (15) and wheat arabinoxylan (1), suggesting a higher microbial diversification with pectin. Moreover, compared to non-fiber control and inulin, samples treated with pectin generated more short chain fatty acids (SCFA), especially acetate.

Conclusions: The consumption of pectin during complementary food introduction could be beneficial for its positive association with microbiome α diversity, an indicator of microbiome development that together with SCFA production is associated with subsequent health outcomes. Further studies, including randomized trials, could help to validate these findings.

Funding Sources: Nestlé Research grant