Description
Background/Objectives: Anthocyanin (ACN)-rich foods may support gut health by modulating the microbiome and reducing inflammation, potentially lowering the risk of colitis-associated colorectal cancer. However, the dynamic response of the gut microbiome to ACN-rich diets is not well characterized, including in the context of structural and compositional differences among ACN-containing foods. This study examined the temporal response of the mouse gut microbiome to dietary ACNs, focusing on the impact of structural variation. We hypothesized that microbiome shifts would occur rapidly but require sustained dietary ACN intake to persist. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were fed the total Western diet (TWD) supplemented with freeze-dried powders from bilberry (BB), tart cherry (TC), chokeberry (CB), elderberry (EB), black currant (BC), black raspberry (BRB for 0, 1, 3, or 7 days. Cocoa polyphenols (CP) were also included for comparison to a differing polyphenol profile. Fecal microbiomes were obtained 0-, 1-, 3-, or 7-days post exposure and analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Results: ACN-rich diets induced marked microbiome shifts within one day, but most effects reverted to baseline within days of supplement withdrawal. BRB exhibited the most persistent response. Correlation analyses revealed that microbiome changes varied by ACN profile, suggesting that differences in glycoside and aglycone structure influenced microbial responses. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the rapid, but largely transient, impact of ACN-rich foods on the gut microbiome and underscore the importance of consistent intake. This work informs future dietary strategies and supports further investigation into the role of ACNs in modulating gut microbiota to reduce inflammation and disease risk.
Author ORCID Identifier
Abby Benninghoff https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7993-0117
Document Type
Dataset
DCMI Type
Dataset
File Format
.txt, .csv, .csv, .nwk
Publication Date
4-23-2025
Funder
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Publisher
Utah State University
Award Number
2021-67018-33938
Methodology
The fecal microbiome was assessed by 16s rRNA sequencing samples obtained following 1, 3, or 7 days of dietary intervention and assessed the persistence of changes at 0-, 1-, 3-, and 7-days post-intervention. Microbiota sequences were processed using QIIME 2 and DADA2. The DADA2 R package implements the full amplicon workflow (filtering, dereplication, chimera identification, merging paired end reads) and generates an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) table and representative sequences. To assign taxonomy, the QIIME feature-classifier classify-sklearn command was used with a classifier pre-trained for the V4 region, silva-138-99-515-806-nb-classifier.qza, and the most recent release of the Silva database (138 SSU). The resulting sequence count data are provided as ASV counts in .csv format, with the corresponding taxonomy and mapping files also in .csv format.
Language
eng
Code Lists
see README
Disciplines
Animal Sciences | Veterinary Toxicology and Pharmacology
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Benninghoff, Abby D., "Data From: The Dynamic Responses of the Mouse Gut Microbiome to Dietary Supplementation with Various Anthocyanin-Rich Foods in the Context of a Western Diet" (2025). Browse all Datasets. Paper 243.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/all_datasets/243
