Trial reportPloS one2018
A low FODMAP diet is associated with changes in the microbiota and reduction in breath hydrogen but not colonic volume in healthy subjects.
Trial report in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 3 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
46 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.
- Validity of food additive maltodextrin as placebo and effects on human gut physiology: systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials.European journal of nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Dietary Fibers on Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Gut Microbiota Composition in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Association Between Sex Hormone Levels and Gut Microbiota Composition and Diversity-A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical gastroenterologyPooled it
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- Predictors of Symptom-Specific Treatment Response to Dietary Interventions in Irritable Bowel Syndrome.Nutrients · 2022Trial
- Does Fibre-fix provided to people with irritable bowel syndrome who are consuming a low FODMAP diet improve their gut health, gut microbiome, sleep and mental health? A double-blinded, randomised controlled trial.BMJ open gastroenterology · 2020Trial
- The Effect of Psyllium Husk on Intestinal Microbiota in Constipated Patients and Healthy Controls.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Trial
- Diet in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Efficacy, Tolerability, and Microbiome Effects Toward Personalized Management.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2026Review
- Gut microbial dysbiosis associated to diarrheic irritable bowel syndrome can be efficiently simulated in the Mucosal ARtificial COLon (M-ARCOL).Bioengineered · 2025Article
- Modern concepts of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.Current opinion in gastroenterology · 2025Review
- Practices and Barriers in Implementing the Low FODMAP Diet for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Among Malaysian Dietitians: A Qualitative Study.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Investigating the response of the butyrate production potential to major fibers in dietary intervention studies.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2024Article
- The Role of the FODMAP Diet in IBS.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Revisiting the Intestinal Microbiome and Its Role in Diarrhea and Constipation.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Role of Diet-Microbiome Interaction in Gastrointestinal Disorders and Strategies to Modulate Them with Microbiome-Targeted Therapies.Annual review of nutrition · 2023Review
- Article
- Deficient butyrate-producing capacity in the gut microbiome is associated with bacterial network disturbances and fatigue symptoms in ME/CFS.Cell host & microbe · 2023Article
- The dynamic relationship of gut microbiota with sex hormones in systemic lupus erythematosus.Reumatologia · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND &
aimsIngestion of poorly digested, fermentable carbohydrates (fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols; FODMAPs) have been implicated in exacerbating intestinal symptoms and the reduction of intake with symptom alleviation. Restricting FODMAP intake is believed to relieve colonic distension by reducing colonic fermentation but this has not been previously directly assessed. We performed a randomised controlled trial comparing the effect of a low FODMAP diet combined with either maltodextrin or oligofructose on colonic contents, metabolites and microbiota.
methodsA parallel randomised controlled trial in healthy adults (n = 37). All subjects followed a low FODMAP diet for a week and supplemented their diet with either maltodextrin (MD) or oligofructose (OF) 7g twice daily. Fasted assessments performed pre- and post-diet included MRI to assess colonic volume, breath testing for hydrogen and methane, and stool collection for microbiota analysis.
resultsThe low FODMAP diet was associated with a reduction in Bifidobacterium and breath hydrogen, which was reversed by oligofructose supplementation. The difference in breath hydrogen between groups post-intervention was 27ppm (95% CI 7 to 50, P<0.01). Colonic volume increased significantly from baseline in both groups (OF increased 110ml (19.6%), 95% CI 30ml to 190ml, P = 0.01; MD increased 90ml (15.5%), 95% CI 6ml to 175ml, P = 0.04) with no significant difference between them. Colonic volumes correlated with total breath hydrogen + methane. A divergence in Clostridiales abundance was observed with increased abundance of Ruminococcaceae in the maltodextrin group, while in the oligofructose group, Lachnospiraceae decreased. Subjects in either group with high methane production also tended to have high microbial diversity, high colonic volume and greater abundance of methanogens.
conclusionA low FODMAP diet reduces total bacterial count and gas production with little effect on colonic volume.
Indexed as
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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.