ReviewNutrition research reviews2015
Towards microbial fermentation metabolites as markers for health benefits of prebiotics.
Review in Nutrition research reviews, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 152 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
152 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 331 citations in OpenAlex.
- Development of an indigestible dietary protein index to investigate the effects of dietary protein content in postweaned pigs.Journal of animal science · 2025Pooled it
- Gut microbiota bridges dietary nutrients and host immunity.Science China. Life sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of Insect Consumption on Human Health: A Systematic Review of Human Studies.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Probiotics for Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of wheat aleurone on biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, gut microbiota and metabolites in adults with high body mass index: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.European journal of nutrition · 2022Trial
- Prebiotic dietary fibre intervention improves fecal markers related to inflammation in obese patients: results from the Food4Gut randomized placebo-controlled trial.European journal of nutrition · 2021Trial
- Effects ofNutrients · 2020Trial
- Associations between the gut microbiota and host responses to high altitude.American journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology · 2018Trial
- Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2018Trial
- Starch-entrapped microsphere fibers improve bowel habit but do not exhibit prebiotic capacity in those with unsatisfactory bowel habits: a phase I, randomized, double-blind, controlled human trial.Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) · 2017Trial
- Urinary N-methylnicotinamide and β-aminoisobutyric acid predict catch-up growth in undernourished Brazilian children.Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Intestinal gases as markers to study the diet-gut microbiota-host metabolism axis in humans and their relationship to metabolic health.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Distinction of meal quality and interaction with the gut microbiota by breath volatilome analysis in humans.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Integrated Assessment of the Functional Activity of the Gut Environment and Metabolic Profiles in Rats Fed an Insect-Based (International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- A Combination of Inulin and Long-Chain Fructooligosaccharides EnhancesJournal of agricultural and food chemistry · 2026Article
- A Developmental Perspective on the Intestinal Microbiota in Crohn's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The Microbiome-Neurodegeneration Interface: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Future Directions.Cells · 2026Review
- Longitudinal Interaction Between Individualized Gut Microbial Dynamics and Diet Is Associated with Metabolic Health in School-Aged Children.Nutrients · 2026Observational
- Fiber mixtures containing chicory inulin, wheat dextrin, and cellulose, or tapioca dextrin alone, beneficially modulate microbial metabolic activity and composition in short-term colonic simulations.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Probiotics in irritable bowel syndrome: strain-specific effects, diet, and biomarker timing.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
92 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 9 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Available evidence on the bioactive, nutritional and putative detrimental properties of gut microbial metabolites has been evaluated to support a more integrated view of how prebiotics might affect host health throughout life. The present literature inventory targeted evidence for the physiological and nutritional effects of metabolites, for example, SCFA, the potential toxicity of other metabolites and attempted to determine normal concentration ranges. Furthermore, the biological relevance of more holistic approaches like faecal water toxicity assays and metabolomics and the limitations of faecal measurements were addressed. Existing literature indicates that protein fermentation metabolites (phenol, p-cresol, indole, ammonia), typically considered as potentially harmful, occur at concentration ranges in the colon such that no toxic effects are expected either locally or following systemic absorption. The endproducts of saccharolytic fermentation, SCFA, may have effects on colonic health, host physiology, immunity, lipid and protein metabolism and appetite control. However, measuring SCFA concentrations in faeces is insufficient to assess the dynamic processes of their nutrikinetics. Existing literature on the usefulness of faecal water toxicity measures as indicators of cancer risk seems limited. In conclusion, at present there is insufficient evidence to use changes in faecal bacterial metabolite concentrations as markers of prebiotic effectiveness. Integration of results from metabolomics and metagenomics holds promise for understanding the health implications of prebiotic microbiome modulation but adequate tools for data integration and interpretation are currently lacking. Similarly, studies measuring metabolite fluxes in different body compartments to provide a more accurate picture of their nutrikinetics are needed.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.