Marotta, Roberto (2025) From legumes to postbiotics: exploring plant-based strategies to modulate the gut microbiome and promote human health. [Tesi di dottorato]

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Abstract

Diet plays a central role in shaping the structure and metabolic activity of the gut microbiome, influencing host physiology and the risk of chronic diseases. Western dietary patterns, typically rich in red and processed meat, are associated with dysbiosis, systemic inflammation, and adverse metabolic outcomes, whereas plant-based diets promote microbial eubiosis and the production of health-related metabolites. Within this context, legumes represent a nutritionally dense and sustainable food group, providing fermentable fibers, plant proteins, and bioactive compounds capable of modulating gut microbial ecology. Moreover, legume matrices offer a promising substrate for the development of fermented and postbiotic products with enhanced functional potential. This doctoral thesis aimed to investigate how legume-based dietary strategies and legume-derived postbiotic formulations can modulate the human gut microbiome and contribute to host health. First, an 8-week randomized controlled trial assessed the effects of replacing red meat proteins with pulse-derived proteins, either from whole pulses or from a combination of pulses and pulse based meat alternatives, on the gut microbiome of habitual high red meat consumers. The intervention revealed taxonomic and functional microbial adaptations associated with increased intake of legume proteins and fibers. Second, a postbiotic obtained by fermenting navy bean flour with Lacticaseibacillus paracasei CBA L74 was developed and tested in a dynamic in vitro SHIME model, enabling the characterization of dose-dependent microbial and metabolic responses. Overall, the thesis presents evidence from both in vivo and in vitro approaches describing how legume-based diets and legume-derived postbiotic formulations influence gut microbiome composition and microbial metabolism.

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