Influence of Flax Seeds on the Gut Microbiota of Elderly Patients with Constipation

Abstract

Purpose

This study was to explore the influence of flax seeds on the gut microbiota of elderly patients with functional constipation.

Patients and Methods

Sixty elderly patients (68.68±8.73 years) with functional constipation were recruited between January 2018 and March 2018. They received oral flax seeds (50 g/d) for one month. Bowel habits and adverse events were recorded before and after treatment. Fresh stool was collected before and after treatment and the amplification product of 16S rRNA V5 region was sequenced using the next-generation sequencing technique on the Ion Torrent PGM platform. The gut microbiota were analyzed before and after flax seeds treatment in the same subject.

Results

Flax-seed treatment significantly increased the frequency of defecation and decreased abdominal distension in elderly patients with chronic constipation. The majority of gut bacteria belonged to the phyla of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria, accounting for 98.71%. After flax seeds treatment, the diversity of bacterial clusters significantly increased with increases of Roseburia_hominis, Pseudomonas_azotoformans, uncultured_Clostridiales_bacterium, Blautia_obeum, Ruminococcus_sp._16442, Pyramidobacter_piscolens, Acinetobacter_lwoffii, Prevotella_melaninogenica. The abundance of Blautia in patients with chronic constipation was significantly lower than healthy controls, while Blautia_obeum increased significantly after flax seed treatment. Blautia_obeum might be the predominant genus accounting for the therapeutic effect of flax seeds.

Conclusion

Flax seeds may improve the defecation in elderly patients with chronic constipation and change intestinal microecological structure. Thus, flax seeds may serve as an effective diet supplement in the management of chronic constipation.

Keywords:

• constipation
• flax seeds
• high-throughput sequencing
• gut microbiota

Data Sharing Statement

We intend to share all clinical trial data. The individual deidentified participant data and other study documents could be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. They will be made available for three years.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center (No. SHDC12013123 and SHDC12015107).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.