From homeostasis to microbial remodeling: The impact of defatted passion fruit seed flour (Passiflora edulis) on the gut microbiota depends on diet type

Abstract

Objective

This study evaluated the effects of defatted passion fruit seed flour (Passiflora edulis) on the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota in mice fed normolipidic and hyperlipidic diets.

This study evaluated the effects of defatted passion fruit seed flour (Passiflora edulis) on the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota in mice fed normolipidic and hyperlipidic diets.

Methods

Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four experimental groups (n = 10): AIN (standard diet), AIN + flour (DPFSF), HF (hyperlipidic diet), HF + flour (DPFSF). Fecal genomic DNA was extracted using QIAamp PowerFecal Pro DNA kit according to manufacturer's instructions. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region was performed via Element AVITI Sequencer and sequences generated were analyzed using Qiime2 pipeline. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee under approval number 02/2025.

Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four experimental groups (n = 10): AIN (standard diet), AIN + flour (DPFSF), HF (hyperlipidic diet), HF + flour (DPFSF). Fecal genomic DNA was extracted using QIAamp PowerFecal Pro DNA kit according to manufacturer's instructions. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region was performed via Element AVITI Sequencer and sequences generated were analyzed using Qiime2 pipeline. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee under approval number 02/2025.

Results

DPFSF promoted the modulation of the gut microbiota in a diet-dependent manner. In the AIN group, DPFSF reduced alpha diversity indices, including Evenness (P < 0.01) and Shannon (P < 0.01), and altered the bacterial community structure (PERMANOVA, P &lt; 0.001). There was an increase in genera associated with carbohydrate fermentation and the production of beneficial metabolites, such as Lactobacillus, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, and Family XIII AD3011 group (belonging to the phylum Bacillota), and a marked reduction in taxa such as Akkermansia, Parabacteroides, Ruminococcus torques, UBA1819, Erysipelatoclostridium, and Anaerotruncus. In contrast, in the hyperlipidemic model, DPFSF increased alpha diversity, with an increase in Observed Features (P < 0.05), Evenness (P < 0.05), Shannon (P < 0.01) and Faith's PD (P < 0.05), in addition to altering the microbial composition (PERMANOVA, P < 0.001), highlighting an increase in bacterial groups associated with the fermentation of food substrates, including Blautia, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Eubacterium coprostanoligenes and Lutescibacter, and a reduction in taxa such as Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002, Erysipelatoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae_UCG-006, Tuzzerella and Family XIII AD3011 group.

DPFSF promoted the modulation of the gut microbiota in a diet-dependent manner. In the AIN group, DPFSF reduced alpha diversity indices, including Evenness (P < 0.01) and Shannon (P < 0.01), and altered the bacterial community structure (PERMANOVA, P &lt; 0.001). There was an increase in genera associated with carbohydrate fermentation and the production of beneficial metabolites, such as Lactobacillus, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, and Family XIII AD3011 group (belonging to the phylum Bacillota), and a marked reduction in taxa such as Akkermansia, Parabacteroides, Ruminococcus torques, UBA1819, Erysipelatoclostridium, and Anaerotruncus. In contrast, in the hyperlipidemic model, DPFSF increased alpha diversity, with an increase in Observed Features (P < 0.05), Evenness (P < 0.05), Shannon (P < 0.01) and Faith's PD (P < 0.05), in addition to altering the microbial composition (PERMANOVA, P < 0.001), highlighting an increase in bacterial groups associated with the fermentation of food substrates, including Blautia, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Eubacterium coprostanoligenes and Lutescibacter, and a reduction in taxa such as Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002, Erysipelatoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae_UCG-006, Tuzzerella and Family XIII AD3011 group.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that DPFSF exerts distinct effects on the gut microbiota depending on the metabolic context, reducing diversity with selective remodeling of the gut microbiota in animals fed an AIN diet and modulating the microbial community in response to the metabolic challenge imposed by the high-fat diet, promoting greater diversity and selective alteration of bacterial groups.

These results demonstrate that DPFSF exerts distinct effects on the gut microbiota depending on the metabolic context, reducing diversity with selective remodeling of the gut microbiota in animals fed an AIN diet and modulating the microbial community in response to the metabolic challenge imposed by the high-fat diet, promoting greater diversity and selective alteration of bacterial groups.