Effect of Phytin on Human Gut Microbiome (EPoM)

Within many plants, such as seeds, nuts and cereals, there is a compound called phytic acid. Phytic acid has many beneficial properties, including producing molecules which slows down the damage that can be caused to other molecules within the body. Phytic acid has also been known to help in the treatment of cancer. Phytic acid binds iron very strongly. Iron is an extremely important nutrient not only for humans, but also for a lot of bacteria. In humans, iron is absorbed in the small intestine. Unfortunately, iron does not get absorbed very well and so a lot of it travels into the large intestine. The large intestine contains trillions of bacteria and a lot of these bacteria use iron as food. However, not all bacteria in the large intestine are 'good bacteria'. Some bacteria, such as Enterobacteria, can be harmful to people's health. For this reason, if iron is kept away from these 'bad bacteria' through the binding of phytic acid and iron, it could prove to be beneficial to human health. In general, the gut contains trillions of bacteria, many of which help to unlock extra nutrients from the food people eat. Some bacteria, such as Bifidobacteria, are often referred to as 'good bacteria' and are added to foods such as yoghurts. Many 'good bacteria' are able to survive without iron and this makes it even more important to make sure the 'bad bacteria' have limited access to iron. Otherwise, it is possible that the large intestine could populate more more harmful bacteria than beneficial bacteria. In this study, investigators will ask participants to consume either the test capsule, which contains phytin (a salt form of phytic acid), or a control capsule, which contains a powder resembling phytin but is actually an inactive substance. The investigators are interested in whether consuming these capsules will decrease Enterobacteria (one of the 'bad bacteria' in the large intestine).