Descriptive pilot study on physiological improvements and microbiota modulation after colon cleansing in a group of young adult overweight women

Abstract

Abstract Background The colon is now considered as key to wellbeing, health and disease and intestinal microbiota (IM) modulation is becoming a therapeutic target for some medical conditions. Interventions for this modulation range from the traditional ones based basically on diet and exercise, to intestinal fecal (microbiota/microbiome) transplantations, through the consumption of pro- pre- and syn-biotics. Objectives In this descriptive pilot study, we propose a 6-day colon cleansing protocol to modulate IM and obtain visible improvements in a selected set of 22 physiological variables associated with being overweight and obesity: 11 physical, 9 chemical and 2 biological (Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio – F/BR, and the prevalence of Akkermansia muciniphila). Methods We worked with a convenience sample of 12 young adult overweight female volunteers, divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group, each with n = 6. Results Here, we show that favorable changes in all selected variables are present in the experimental group immediately after the treatment and a month later, without further intervention, and that the changes observed in the physical and chemical variables are highly correlated with the changes in the F/BR. Conclusion Being overweight or obese, in the same way as most chronic non communicable diseases (NCDs), are associated with unhealthy life habits, which produce epigenetic changes and alterations in the IM equilibrium (dysbiosis). As life habits are modifiable, NCDs are considered as preventable. Microbiota modulation at the beginning of a slimming intervention to restore that equilibrium (eubiosis) could prove very useful as an adjuvant to changes in diet and physical activity and improve their effectiveness. The preliminary results provided by this descriptive pilot study are very encouraging and merit a future larger clinical study in order to get solid statistical support for this proposal.