Dietary Bioactives and Microbiome Diversity (The DIME Study)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Effect of Dietary Bioactives on Gut Microbiome Diversity - A Pilot Study
IRAS ID
280733
Contact name
Maria Traka
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Quadram Institute Bioscience
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
This study is a part of a wider EU-funded project called Food & Nutrition Security (FNS)-Cloud, designed to make food and nutrition data available for effective use. The data collected will be used to assess the dietary drivers of gut microbial diversity. We will carry out a 2x2 randomised, cross-over study to estimate the effect of the dietary bioactives: polyphenols, carotenoids and sulphur metabolites, on gut microbial diversity and markers of metabolic health in up to 25 participants with no known medical disorders, aged 18 - 65 years. Participants will consume a diet high in bioactive-rich foods for 2 weeks and a diet low in bioactive-rich foods for 2 weeks, with a 4-week wash-out period between the two diets. The study aims to compare the effects of these two diets on gut microbial diversity, to test the feasibility of altering the levels of bioactives in participants' diets and to provide real-world data to test the abilities of the FNS-Cloud to make complex human study data accessible. The study will also explore the effect of the two diets on host metabolism, markers of cardiovascular health and inflammation and postprandial glucose metabolism. Appreciably, the high bioactive arm of the study will be high in fruit and vegetables, while the low bioactive arm will contain lower amounts of fruit and vegetables. Participants will be asked to maintain constant fibre levels across both arms of the study, and meal plans encouraging consumption of fruit and vegetables low in bioactives will be provided.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/NW/0359
Date of REC Opinion
28 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion