Biofilm nutraceuticals shape gut microbiota better than diet-based interventions: a novel approach to next-generation medicine

Abstract

In-vitro-developed microbial biofilms are reported to restore degraded agroecosystems via reinstating soil-plantanimal-microbial networks by supplying a mixture of diverse biochemicals that act as network components. Here we hypothesize that the same approach can be used to revitalize the gut microbiota altered due to modern lifestyle and dietary patterns. We tested biochemicals exuded by a developed fungal-bacterial biofilm (BFEx) on the dormancy-breaking of five test gut microbes. The growth and development of the microbes were evaluated in a simulated gut environment with eight different dietary patterns consisting of low and high levels of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and fiber. In addition, the BFEx was tested for cytotoxic activity. Results revealed that the BFEx promoted the growth and possibly dormancy-breaking of all the tested gut microbes. However, these observations were made only in mixed cultures suggesting that there is a need for the interaction of diverse microbes in order to achieve a beneficial outcome from the BFEx. Further, the BFEx showed no cytotoxicity. In conclusion, this biofilm-based method seems a better solution than that of diet-based interventions for achieving healthy gut microbiota as the latter option does not restrict peoples’ dietary preferences. The next step would be to evaluate this microbial intervention in animals and humans.