Effects of NatureKnit™ organic, a blend of organic fruit and vegetable fibers rich in naturally occurring bound polyphenols, on the metabolic activity and community composition of the human gut microbiome using the M-SHIME® gastrointestinal model

Objectives The effects of a proprietary blend of organic fruit and vegetable fibers rich in naturally occurring bound polyphenols (commercially known as NatureKnit™ Organic) on the human gut microbiome were assessed. Methods Short-term (48 h) in vitro colonic simulations using the validated Mucosal Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (M-SHIME ® ) platform, with fecal inoculum from nine individual healthy human donors, were performed. Purified organic fibers (inulin and psyllium) were evaluated as comparators and a negative control was included. Primary measures included pH, gas pressure, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, and microbial community composition. Results All test products were well fermented with NatureKnit™ Organic showing slower fermentation kinetics than the purified fibers. SCFAs were significantly increased with all test products versus the negative control ( p < 0.0001 for all) and NatureKnit™ Organic reached significance versus both purified fibers ( p < 0.0001 for both). While relative abundances in the mucosal compartment were similar among all test conditions, luminal bacterial abundance increased with NatureKnit™ Organic and psyllium versus the negative control. The latter was mainly associated with statistically increased abundance ( p < 0.05) of the genera Eisenbergiella and Monoglobus , with an additional strong enrichment of Bacteroidaceae . Furthermore, bacterial species richness was significantly increased with NatureKnit™ Organic versus the negative control ( p = 0.0495), which was not observed for the purified organic fibers ( p = 0.0567 and p = 0.4285 for inulin and psyllium, respectively). Conclusion Overall, the obtained results indicate that NatureKnit™ Organic may have a greater and gentler prebiotic effect compared with established purified prebiotic fibers.