| Summary: | High consumption of fructose and high-fructose corn syrup is related to the development of obesity-associated metabolic diseases, which have become the most relevant diet-induced diseases. However, the influences of a high-fructose diet on gut microbiota are still largely unknown. We therefore examined the effect of short-term high-fructose consumption on the human intestinal microbiota. Twelve healthy adult women were enrolled in a pilot intervention study. All study participants consecutively followed four different diets, first a low fructose diet (< 10 g/day fructose), then a fruit-rich diet (100 g/day fructose) followed by a low fructose diet (10 g/day fructose) and at last a high-fructose syrup (HFS) supplemented diet (100 g/day fructose). Fecal microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. A high-fructose fruit diet significantly shifted the human gut microbiota by increasing the abundance of the phylum <i>Firmicutes</i>, in which beneficial butyrate producing bacteria such as <i>Faecalibacterium</i>, <i>Anareostipes</i> and <i>Erysipelatoclostridium</i> were elevated, and decreasing the abundance of the phylum <i>Bacteroidetes</i> including the genus <i>Parabacteroides</i>. An HFS diet induced substantial differences in microbiota composition compared to the fruit-rich diet leading to a lower <i>Firmicutes</i> and a higher <i>Bacteroidetes</i> abundance as well as reduced abundance of the genus <i>Ruminococcus</i>. Compared to a low-fructose diet we observed a decrease of <i>Faecalibacterium</i> and <i>Erysipelatoclostridium</i> after the HFS diet. Abundance of <i>Bacteroidetes</i> positively correlated with plasma cholesterol and LDL level, whereas abundance of <i>Firmicutes</i> was negatively correlated. Different formulations of high-fructose diets induce distinct alterations in gut microbiota composition. High-fructose intake by HFS causes a reduction of beneficial butyrate producing bacteria and a gut microbiota profile that may affect unfavorably host lipid metabolism whereas high consumption of fructose from fruit seems to modulate the composition of the gut microbiota in a beneficial way supporting digestive health and counteracting harmful effects of excessive fructose.
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