Evidence item

In this randomised study, ten participants consumed chickpea-based meals with intact versus broken cellular structures, with sampling of oral, gastric, duodenal and ileal fluids. The primary outcome was the postprandial enteroendocrine hormone responses (GIP, GLP-1 and PYY); secondary outcomes were GIT metabolite profiles (1H NMR) and ileal microbiota (shotgun metagenomics). We observed that food structure markedly altered the spatiotemporal trajectories of metabolites and dominant microbe, driving distinct enteroendocrine hormone responses. Broken-cell meals produced early GIT glucose and maltose peaks associated with rapid GIP responses, whereas intact-cell meals elevated duodenal amino acids and ileal sugars, amino acids and formate, enhancing GLP-1 and PYY responses. Microbial profiles exhibited rapid spatial reorganisation, with evidence that oral bacterial strains transmitted to the ileum, where their abundance was associated with local metabolites and PYY responses.