Dried chicory root improves bowel function, benefits intestinal microbial trophic chains and increases faecal and circulating short chain fatty acids in subjects at risk for type 2 diabetes

Abstract We investigated the impact of dried chicory root in a randomised, placebo-controlled trial with 55 subjects at risk for type 2 diabetes on bowel function, gut microbiota and its products, and glucose homeostasis. The treatment increased stool softness (+1.1 ± 0.3 units; p = 0.034) and frequency (+0.6 ± 0.2 defecations/day; p < 0.001), strongly modulated gut microbiota composition (7 % variation; p = 0.001), and dramatically increased relative levels (3-4-fold) of Anaerostipes and Bifidobacterium spp., in a dose-dependent, reversible manner. A synthetic community, including selected members of these genera and a Bacteroides strain, generated a butyrogenic trophic chain from the product. Faecal acetate, propionate and butyrate increased by 25.8 % (+13.0 ± 6.3 mmol/kg; p = 0.023) as did their fasting circulating levels by 15.7 % (+7.7 ± 3.9 μM; p = 0.057). In the treatment group the glycaemic coefficient of variation decreased from 21.3 ± 0.94 to 18.3 ± 0.84 % (p = 0.004), whereas fasting glucose and HOMA-ir decreased in subjects with low baseline Blautia levels (−0.3 ± 0.1 mmol/L fasting glucose; p = 0.0187; −0.14 ± 0.1 HOMA-ir; p = 0.045). Dried chicory root intake rapidly and reversibly affects bowel function, benefits butyrogenic trophic chains, and promotes glycaemic control.