The MD (Mediterranean diet) is recognized as one of the healthiest diets worldwide and is associated with the prevention of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Dietary habits are considered one of the strongest modulators of gut microbiota, which seem to play a significant role in health status of the host. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate interactive associations between gut microbiota composition and habitual dietary intake in 360 Spanish adults from the Obekit cohort (normal weight, overweight, and obese participants). Dietary intake and adherence to the MD tests were administered and fecal samples were collected from each participant. Fecal 16S rRNA (ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid) gene sequencing was performed and checked against the dietary habits. MetagenomeSeq was the statistical tool applied to analyze data at the species taxonomic level. Results from this study identified several beneficial bacteria that were more abundant in the individuals with higher adherence to the MD. Bifidobacterium animalis was the species with the strongest association with the MD. Some SCFA (Short Chain Fatty Acids) -producing bacteria were also associated with MD. In conclusion, this study showed that MD, fiber, legumes, vegetable, fruit, and nut intake are associated with an increase in butyrate-producing taxa such as Roseburia faecis, Ruminococcus bromii, and Oscillospira (Flavonifractor) plautii.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the red cabbage extracts on the bioaccessibility of their isothiocyanates, and their effect on the intestinal microbiota using a dynamic model of human digestion treated with the gut microbiome of obese adults. The elicitation of red cabbage plants with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) duplicated the content of glucosinolates (GSLs) in the plant organs used for elaborating the encapsulated formula. The use of plasma membrane vesicles, according to a proper methodology and technology, showed a high retention of sulforaphane (SFN) and indol-3-carbinol (I3C) over the course of the 14-day digestion study. The microbiome was scarcely affected by the treatments in terms of microbiota composition or the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio, but a 3 to 4-fold increase was observed in the production of butyric acid with the encapsulated extract treatment. Based on our pilot red cabbage extract study, the consumption of this extract, mainly encapsulated, may play a potential role in the management of obesity in adults.

Gene expression analysis has proven to be a very useful tool to gain knowledge of the factors involved in the pathogenesis of diseases, particularly in the initial or preclinical stages. With the aim of finding new data on the events occurring in the Central Nervous System in animals affected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, a comprehensive genome wide gene expression study was conducted at different time points of the disease on mice genetically modified to model the bovine species brain in terms of cellular prion protein. An accurate analysis of the information generated by microarray technique was the key point to assess the biological relevance of the data obtained in terms of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy pathogenesis. Validation of the microarray technique was achieved by RT-PCR confirming the RNA change and immunohistochemistry techniques that verified that expression changes were translated into variable levels of protein for selected genes. Our study reveals changes in the expression of genes, some of them not previously associated with prion diseases, at early stages of the disease previous to the detection of the pathological prion protein, that might have a role in neuronal degeneration and several transcriptional changes showing an important imbalance in the Central Nervous System homeostasis in advanced stages of the disease. Genes whose expression is altered at early stages of the disease should be considered as possible therapeutic targets and potential disease markers in preclinical diagnostic tool development. Genes non-previously related to prion diseases should be taken into consideration for further investigations.

This study aims to analyze the relationship between gut microbiota composition and health parameters through specific biochemical markers and food consumption patterns in the Spanish population. This research includes 60 Spanish adults aged 47.3 ± 11.2 years old. Biochemical and anthropometric measurements, and a self-referred dietary survey (food frequency questionnaire), were analyzed and compared with the participant´s gut microbiota composition analyzed by 16s rDNA sequencing. Several bacterial strains differed significantly with the biochemical markers analyzed, suggesting an involvement in the participant´s metabolic health. Lower levels of Lactobacillaceae and Oscillospiraceae and an increase in Pasteurellaceae, Phascolarctobacterium, and Haemophilus were observed in individuals with higher AST levels. Higher levels of the Christensenellaceae and a decrease in Peptococcaceae were associated with higher levels of HDL-c. High levels of Phascolarctobacterium and Peptococcus and low levels of Butyricicoccus were found in individuals with higher insulin levels. This study also identified associations between bacteria and specific food groups, such as an increase in lactic acid bacteria with the consumption of fermented dairy products or an increase in Verrucomicrobiaceae with the consumption of olive oil. In conclusion, this study reinforces the idea that specific food groups can favorably modulate gut microbiota composition and have an impact on host´s health.

The gut microbiota plays a key role in gastrointestinal immune and metabolic functions and is influenced by dietary composition. An in vitro protocol simulating the physiological conditions of the digestive system helps to study the effects of foods/biocompounds on gut microbiome and metabolome. The Dynamic-Colonic Gastrointestinal Digester consists of five interconnected compartments, double jacket vessels that simulate the physiological conditions of the stomach, the small intestine and the three colonic sections, which are the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon. Human faeces are required to reproduce the conditions and culture medium of the human colon, allowing the growth of the intestinal microbiota. After a stabilization period of 12 days, a food/biocompound can be introduced to study its modulatory effects during the next 14 days (treatment period). At the end of the stabilization and treatment period, samples taken from the colon compartments are analysed. The 16S rRNA gene analysis reveals the microbiota composition. The untargeted metabolomics analysis gives more than 10,000 features (metabolites/compounds). The present protocol allows in vitro testing of the modulatory effects of foods or biocompounds on gut microbiota composition and metabolic activity.