Study finds that production of hydrogen sulfide in the gut is dependent on animal or plant-based diets

Published in Clinical Nutrition, University of Minnesota Medical School researchers found colonic hydrogen sulfide-; A poisonous gas in the body that smells like rotten eggs -; Production in people in response to animal and plant-based dietary interventions.

“Although the role of hydrogen sulfide has long been a matter of great interest in the pathogenesis of many important diseases—such as ulcerative colitis, colon cancer, and obesity—previous investigations provide dietary data, microbiome characterization and actual hydrogen sulfide production,” Am Medical. said Alexander Khorets, MD, a gastroenterologist at the U of School and MHealth Fairview. “That’s what we did here.”

From a human group, the study supports the general hypothesis that hydrogen sulfide produced by the gut microbiota increases with an animal-based diet. However, the results also suggested the existence of gut microbiome enterotypes that respond differently and even paradoxically to different dietary inputs.

The study found that:

• In most participants, the plant-based diet resulted in less hydrogen sulfide production than the animal-based (ie, Western) diet.
• As expected, a plant-based diet contains more fiber, while an animal-based diet contains more protein.
• In some individuals, plant-based diets did not reduce or even increase hydrogen sulfide production.
• Preliminary results suggested the existence of different compositions of the gut microbiota (enterotypes) that correlated with differential response to diet in terms of hydrogen sulfide production.

The study was in line with the general understanding that regular consumption of fiber-rich foods is beneficial for gut health. Future analyzes of the gut microbiome may help to differentiate nutritional interventions.”

Dr. Levi Teigen, Nutrition Researcher, Department of Gastroenterology, University of Minnesota Medical School

The study was funded by the Healthy Foods Healthy Lives, Achieving Cure Together, Allen Foundation, and the University of Minnesota MnDRIVE Initiative. The research team envisions future work that will lead to more personalized nutritional counseling informed by microbiome-based diagnostics.