ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Microbes
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1623710
This article is part of the Research TopicFunctional Foods for Metabolic HealthView all 21 articles
Impact of fresh and fermented vegetable consumption on gut microbiota and body composition: insights from diverse data analysis approaches
Provisionally accepted
- 1AS TFTAK, Tallinn, Estonia
- 2School of Natural Sciences and Health, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia
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The impact of fermented foods on human health, particularly through gut microbiota, is a widely discussed topic. However, the number of nutritional studies demonstrating their health benefits remains limited. This study evaluated the effects of fermented vegetables (FVs) intake including fermented carrots, kohlrabi, and kimchi on human health parameters, with a primary focus on gut microbiota. In addition to microbiota analysis, we assessed anthropometric parameters, stool frequency, and data from nutritional diaries. A total of 65 volunteers were recruited, of whom 55 completed the study.FVs are valuable health products, combining dietary fibres and lactic acid bacteria, both essential for supporting normal gut microbiota. To better understand the effects of FV consumption in different populations, participants were divided into three groups: controls without reported health problems (CTRL), individuals with constipation (CONS), and those recovering from an antibiotic course (AB). Multiple analytical approaches were applied to evaluate: (1) the effects of FV consumption within the three focus groups, (2) the response of different gut enterotypes to a three-week FV consumption period based on taxonomic hierarchical analyses, and (3) the combined effects across the entire cohort.The choice of analysed groups was crucial for interpreting the results, revealing varied effects depending on the context. Overall, the findings showed that consuming FVs modified gut microbiota composition, increasing the abundance of butyrate-producing and antiinflammatory bacterial species. Additionally, phase angle, a key indicator of cellular health reflecting cell integrity and hydration, showed statistically significant improvement across the cohort, indicating better metabolic health after the intervention. Food diaries further revealed a reduction in sugar consumption among participants, highlighting an additional benefit of enriching diets with fermented foods.These results demonstrate the clear positive impact of FV consumption on human health, particularly through gut microbiota modulation and metabolic improvements.
Keywords: fermented vegetables, Kimchi, Gut Microbiota, Body Composition, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, Nutritional intervention study
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pihelgas, Ehala-Aleksejev, Kutti, Kuldjärv and Kazantseva. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Susan Pihelgas, AS TFTAK, Tallinn, Estonia
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