MiCrobiome dieT Study

The human gut microbiome is the community of bacteria that reside within the human intestine.
These microbes are constantly exposed to the end-products and partial break-down-products of
digestion from the foods consumed each day. Very little is known about the complex
interaction of specific dietary components with the microbiome over time in one individual.
In order to produce robust analysis of these interactions, longitudinal samples with detailed
dietary intake information from healthy human subjects are needed.

The complex relationship between dietary intake and the microbiome, and the potential health
implications of human exposure to microbial metabolites, are only beginning to be understood.
It is well known that altered dietary intake can trigger rapid, although transient, changes
in the composition of the microbiome in as little as 1 to 2 days. The biggest factors in
determining microbial response to diet are thought to include an individual's starting
microbiome, long-term dietary habits, and environmental exposures.

It is not well understood how small dietary differences from day-to-day impact the
microbiome. A longitudinal dataset with accurately recorded dietary data and multiple samples
over 17 days will provide valuable insight into the changes that occur at the individual
level over time, while controlling for dietary trends and initial microbiome composition.

Medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) have systemic beneficial effects and increase survival in
rats by preventing gut injury and permeability following lipopolysaccharide administration,
preventing alcohol-induced liver injury, and protecting against the development of colitis in
a model of Crohn's disease. Understanding the interaction of MCTs with the microbiome in
humans could lead to important advancements in the understanding of how diet impacts the
microbiome composition, and ultimately, human health. This proposed study is designed to
evaluate the effect of MCTs compared with long chain triglycerides on the normal structure of
the microbiome and data will not be used to diagnose, prevent, cure or treat disease.

The purpose of this study is to: 1) investigate the role daily dietary variation plays in
microbiome composition and stability, and 2) explore the effect of MCT supplementation on
microbiome composition in healthy adults.