Impact of plant sterols enrichment dose on gut microbiota from lean and obese subjects using TIM-2 in vitro fermentation model

There are scarce data on plant sterols (PS) and gut microbiota relationship. The purpose of this study is to compare the interaction between PS and gut microbiota through in vitro colonic fermentation studies using a validated system (TIM-2) with a PS-enriched dose (similar to 2 g/day) from two sources (food PS-source ingredient and commercial standard) using microbiota from lean and obese populations. Fecal sterols, short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and microbiota composition were determined by GC/MS, IEC, and 16S-sequencing, respectively. PS-feeding decreased coprostanol and ethylcoprostanol concentration and increased the production of acetate and butyrate (mainly with lean microbiota). In addition, the PS-enrichment dose increased the proportion of some genera from phylum Firmicutes with lean and obese microbiota. The results obtained suggest that the gut microbiota preferably use PS as a substrate. In addition, PS-enrichment dose had no effect on the production of SCFA but modified the microbial profile of lean and obese populations.