Effect of miso soup containing Natto on the composition and metabolic activity of the human faecal flora

Figures & data

Table I.  Experimental design.

		During intake
	Before intake Day 0	Day 7	Day 14	After intake Day 7
Week	←1→	←1→	←1→	←1→
Sampling day	0	7	14	7
Item for analysis
Water content (%)	*	*	*	*
Ph	*	*	*	*
Faecal flora	*	*	*	*
SCFA (mg/g)	*	*	*	*
Ammonia (µg/g)	*	*	*	*
Sulfide (µg/g)	*	*	*	*
Skatol (µg/g)	*	*	*	*
Indole (µg/g)	*	*	*	*
Ethylphenol (µg/g)	*	*	*	*
p-Cresol (µg/g)	*	*	*	*
Phenol (µg/g)	*	*	*	*

*: Items examined.

SCFAs: Short chain fatty acids.

Table II.  Effect of natto miso soup intake on faecal flora of eight human volunteers^a,b.

		During intake
Micoorganism	Before intake Day 0	Day 7	Day 14	After intake Day 7
Total bacteria	10.77±0.18	10.86±0.39	10.75±0.25	10.93±0.27
Bifidobacterium	9.93±0.69 (100)	10.31±0.22 (100)	10.26±0.42* (100)	10.14±0.24 (100)
Bacteroidaceae	10.26±0.36 (100)	10.33±0.57 (100)	10.13±0.53 (100)	10.51±0.39 (100)
Eubacterium	9.91±0.52 (100)	9.39±0.80 (100)	9.74±0.66 (100)	9.98±0.49 (100)
Anaerobic GPC^c	9.62±0.24 (100)	9.71±0.82 (100)	9.30±0.56 (100)	9.33±1.10 (88)
Veillonella	6.22±1.34 (75)	6.78 (25)	7.13 (25)	7.21±1.64 (100)
Clostridium
Lecithinase-positive	4.55±1.47 (63)	3.89±1.15 (38)	3.45 (25)	4.80 (25)
Lecithinase-negative	8.14±1.29 (50)	8.30 (25)	8.04±1.45 (50)	9.17±0.81 (38)
Lactobacillus	7.15±1.61 (88)	7.00±1.24 (88)	6.80±1.75 (100)	6.35±1.34 (100)
Enterobacteriaceae	8.24±1.42 (100)	7.60±1.37* (100)	7.25±1.84* (100)	8.46±1.06 (100)
Streptococcus	8.34±0.96 (100)	8.22±1.50 (100)	8.01±1.30 (100)	8.08±1.53 (100)
Staphylococcus	4.11±1.80 (63)	3.15 (13)	2.80 (25)	3.03±0.88 (50)
Bacillus	3.63±1.15 (38)	8.42±1.33* (100)	8.66±0.33* (100)	3.30 (13)
Pseudomonas	4.02±2.72 (38)	3.82±2.67 (38)	3.43 (25)	3.87 (25)
Yeasts	4.91±0.62 (38)	4.15±1.83 (75)	4.44±0.63 (63)	4.36±1.15 (75)

^aData are expressed as mean log number (CFU) per gram faeces±S.D.

^bFigures in parentheses are frequency of occurrence (%).

^cGPC; Gram positive cocci.

*Significantly different from the counts before intake (p<0.05).

Figure 1.  Change in the concentrations of faecal short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) during natto miso soup intake period. Graphs show the mean for eight human volunteers (n=8). *Significantly different from the values before intake (p<0.05).

Figure 2.  Change in the concentrations of faecal metabolites during intake of natto miso soup. Graphs show the mean for eight human volunteers (n=8). *Significantly different from the values before intake (p<0.05).

Table III.  Effect of natto miso soup intake on faecal pH, concentrations of ammonia and sulfide, and water content of eight human volunteers.

		During intake
Item	Before intake Day 0	Day 7	Day 14	After inkate Day 7
Ph	6.32±0.33	5.90±0.45	5.97±0.67	6.46±0.39
Ammonia (µg/g)	575.13±199.80	290.50±145.16*	344.00±100.85*	680.13±200.22
Sulfide (µg/g)	2.61±1.00	1.77±0.67	1.09±0.68*	2.50±1.01
Water content (%)	75.44±5.84	79.70±6.45	79.00±2.30	78.20±5.02

Data were expressed as mean±S.D.

*Significantly different from the values before intake (p<0.05).