Fiber and Prif curb gut microbes eating gut lining
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- Gut microbes consume proteins from the host’s mucus lining when fiber is limited, increasing production of harmful metabolites like p-cresol sulfate, according to isotope tracing in mice.
- Plant fiber and indigestible plant proteins (Prif) shift microbial metabolism to favor beneficial phenol metabolites such as phenylpropionate and hippuric acid over toxic ones linked to cancer and kidney disease.
- Jenna AbuSalim and Joshua Rabinowitz led two studies showing that dietary Prif and fiber suppress microbial breakdown of the gut lining and boost health-promoting compounds in the gut.
- Mammalian metabolism produces key indole and phenol metabolites—including indole-3-lactate and indole-3-acetate—without microbial involvement, challenging the assumption that these compounds are solely microbiome-derived.
- Circulating indole metabolites remain high in mice and humans after antibiotic treatment that disrupts the microbiome, indicating host cells contribute significantly to their production.
Why it matters: These findings reshape how scientists view the diet-microbiome relationship: fiber and Prif directly suppress gut lining degradation and steer microbial output, while host metabolism plays a larger role in producing therapeutic metabolites than previously thought—changing how researchers design dietary or probiotic interventions for cancer, kidney disease, and metabolic disorders.
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