ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN HABITUAL INTAKE OF NON-FERMENTED MILK AND GUT MICROBIOTA: A GUILD-BASED PROSPECTIVE STUDY

LIU Xi; FU Jiong-xing; ZHENG Wei; JIANG Yu; SHU Xiao-ou; XU Wang-hong

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Acta Nutrimenta Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (6) : 542-552.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN HABITUAL INTAKE OF NON-FERMENTED MILK AND GUT MICROBIOTA: A GUILD-BASED PROSPECTIVE STUDY

LIU Xi¹, FU Jiong-xing¹, ZHENG Wei², JIANG Yu³, SHU Xiao-ou², XU Wang-hong¹

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Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the associations between consumption of non-fermented milk (fresh and powdered) and gut microbiota using a guild-based analytical approach. Methods This study included 2 380 participants (1,196 men and 1,184 women) from the Shanghai Women's and Men's Health Studies who provided stool samples during 2015-2018. Using fresh and powdered milk intake data from validated food frequency questionnaires collected during 2004-2011, we classified participants into never- and ever-intake groups. After estimating total non-fermented milk intake by summing fresh milk and the protein-based liquid-milk equivalents of powdered milk, we further divided the ever-intake group into low- and high-intake groups using sex-specific median cut-offs. Using previously constructed guilds at the OTU level, we compared the α- and β-diversity of gut microbiota across subgroups. We employed PICRUSt2 to predict microbial metabolic pathways, and used MaAsLin to assess the associations between non-fermented milk intake and the relative abundances of guilds and related metabolic pathways. Results In all participants (non-consumers included), the overall median non-fermented milk intake was 71.4 g/d in men and 200.0 g/d in women, whereas among ever-consumers the median was 200 g/d in both sexes. No significant associations were observed between non-fermented milk and α- and β-diversity. In men;|the abundance of Guild_4 was higher in the high-intake group than in the never-intake group (P=0.006)|while in women|the abundance of Guild_5 was higher in the high-intake group (P = 0.009). Both Guild_4 and Guild_5 were dominated by OTUs annotated as the genus Bifidobacterium. Additionally|the guilds that exhibited significant differences in abundance across subgroups in both men and women were predominantly composed of members of the Lachnospiraceae family|including Guild_48|Guild_49|Guild_52|Guild_67|and Guild_74. Non-fermented milk intake was significantly associated with metabolic pathways related to amino acid synthesis and glycolysis (P<0.05). Conclusion The results indicate sex-specific modulations of the gut microbiota by non-fermented milk. Even modest intakes may selectively enrich beneficial taxa such as Bifidobacterium.

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usual diet / non-fermented milk / gut microbiota / guilds

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LIU Xi, FU Jiong-xing, ZHENG Wei, JIANG Yu, SHU Xiao-ou, XU Wang-hong. ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN HABITUAL INTAKE OF NON-FERMENTED MILK AND GUT MICROBIOTA: A GUILD-BASED PROSPECTIVE STUDY[J]. Acta Nutrimenta Sinica. 2025, 47(6): 542-552

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