(P03-060-24) Impact of Daily Avocado Consumption on Gut Microbiota in Adults With Abdominal Obesity

Objectives: Previous research, including our own (a 12-week isocaloric controlled diet study) has demonstrated that incorporating avocados can alter the composition and metabolic function of gut microbiota in individuals with overweight and obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate short-term and long-term impacts of daily avocado consumption without caloric restriction on the gut microbiota of free-living adults with abdominal obesity.

Methods: 1008 individuals with abdominal obesity were enrolled in the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial (HAT), a multi-center, randomized, controlled, 26 week trial. Participants were randomly assigned to either the Avocado group (AVO), receiving one avocado per day, or the Habitual Diet group (HAB), maintaining their usual dietary habits. Fecal samples were collected at baseline, week 4 and week 26 from participants at University of California Los Angeles site (HAB_Week 0: n=115; HAB_Week 4: n=113; HAB_Week 26: n=73; AVO_Week 0: n=115; AVO_Week 4: n=113; AVO_Week 26: n=72). The fecal microbiota was assessed with shotgun sequencing and species abundances were determined using MetaPhlAn4, and functional profiling was done using HUMAnN3. Beta diversity was analyzed by repeated measures permutational multivariate analysis of variance. Linear mixed effect models were used to examine the potential association of intervention at week 4 and 26 with alpha diversity, species and metabolic pathways.

Results: Compared to HAB group, the AVO diet increased alpha diversity at 4 weeks and was persisted through the 26 weeks intervention period. Exploratory analysis using HEI subgroup defined by baseline HEI (median split), showed that alpha diversity was increased only in individuals with a low healthy eating index (≤ 52.7). In addition, Avocado-induced significant change in beta diversity at week 26 but not week 4. At the species level, avocado intake significantly increased Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Bacterium AF16_15 at week 26. Functional analysis in microbiota showed no significant difference between HAB and AVO groups.

Conclusions: Our study findings document a favorable effect of avocados on gut microbiota. The prebiotic potential of avocados is more pronounced in individuals with a low diet quality.

Funding Sources: This work was supported by the Avocado Nutrition Center.