The progressive shift toward Western dietary patterns, characterized by high consumption of red and processed meats and insufficient intake of dietary fibre, has been associated with increased cardiometabolic and inflammatory risk. The incorporation of fibres may represent a strategy to reconcile consumer preferences with public health objectives. In this pilot, randomized, parallel-arm clinical study, we evaluated the safety, metabolic effects, and gut microbiota modulation associated with the medium-term consumption of a low-fat burger enriched with inulin (EB). In this formulation, inulin was used both as a pro-technological hydrogel to replace a significant amount of lipids and as a prebiotic substrate. Outcomes were compared with those of a conventional burger (CB). Fifty healthy adults have been enrolled and consumed, over 8 weeks, 100 g of the assigned burger, three times per week within an individualized isocaloric dietary plan. Anthropometric measures, glyco-lipidic and hepatic parameters, metabolic hormones, inflammatory cytokines, gut microbiota composition, and faecal volatile metabolites were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. No clinically relevant adverse changes were observed in anthropometric, metabolic, hepatic, or inflammatory markers in either group. A modest increase in triglycerides was detected in the CB group, whereas a significant reduction was observed in the EB group, with both values remaining within physiological ranges. Microbiota analysis revealed taxonomic shifts in both arms. The EB consumption was associated with a stable prevalence of Bifidobacterium prevalence, enrichment of Akkermansia, and short chain fatty acids suggesting a trend in enhancing the saccharolytic fermentation. These findings indicate that medium-term intake of an inulin-enriched burger is safe in healthy individuals and appears to subtly promote microbiota composition and activity. suggesting a tendency to improve saccharolytic fermentative metabolism
Clinical-physiological metabolic responses and microbiota modulation of inulin-based hydrogel-enriched burgers in healthy adults: improving nutritional profiles of meat consumption
Khalil, Mohamad;Vacca, Mirco;Giordano, Vita;Apa, Carmen Aurora;Pietragalla, Gianni;Calabrese, Francesco Maria;Rubino, Domenico;Celano, Giuseppe;Chiarini, Margherita;Calasso, Maria;Lanza, Elisa;Portincasa, Piero;De Angelis, Maria
2026-01-01
Abstract
The progressive shift toward Western dietary patterns, characterized by high consumption of red and processed meats and insufficient intake of dietary fibre, has been associated with increased cardiometabolic and inflammatory risk. The incorporation of fibres may represent a strategy to reconcile consumer preferences with public health objectives. In this pilot, randomized, parallel-arm clinical study, we evaluated the safety, metabolic effects, and gut microbiota modulation associated with the medium-term consumption of a low-fat burger enriched with inulin (EB). In this formulation, inulin was used both as a pro-technological hydrogel to replace a significant amount of lipids and as a prebiotic substrate. Outcomes were compared with those of a conventional burger (CB). Fifty healthy adults have been enrolled and consumed, over 8 weeks, 100 g of the assigned burger, three times per week within an individualized isocaloric dietary plan. Anthropometric measures, glyco-lipidic and hepatic parameters, metabolic hormones, inflammatory cytokines, gut microbiota composition, and faecal volatile metabolites were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. No clinically relevant adverse changes were observed in anthropometric, metabolic, hepatic, or inflammatory markers in either group. A modest increase in triglycerides was detected in the CB group, whereas a significant reduction was observed in the EB group, with both values remaining within physiological ranges. Microbiota analysis revealed taxonomic shifts in both arms. The EB consumption was associated with a stable prevalence of Bifidobacterium prevalence, enrichment of Akkermansia, and short chain fatty acids suggesting a trend in enhancing the saccharolytic fermentation. These findings indicate that medium-term intake of an inulin-enriched burger is safe in healthy individuals and appears to subtly promote microbiota composition and activity. suggesting a tendency to improve saccharolytic fermentative metabolismI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
