Fermented Coffee Selectively Increased the Abundance of Prevotella copri in the Human Gut

Abstract

Fermented foods such as kimchi and yogurt are generally known to have beneficial effects on our gut and interest in fermented foods are increasing, which increased a number of fermented food products. And, coffee is a beverage extracted from processed coffee beans, which had become one of the most widely consumed favorite drinks in the world. However, it is known that excessive consumption of coffee can cause caffeinism, such as emotional anxiety, nervousness, sleep disturbance, gastrointestinal disorders. Based on these results, the Fermentation Industry (Sunchang, Korea) developed and commercialized coffee that ferments coffee using Lactobacillus spp. and Bacillus spp. increases functionality and reduces the side effects of coffee by lowering caffeine content. In this study, we aimed to investigate the microbial ecology of the human gut microbiota before and after drinking fermented coffee. Stool samples were collected three times a week, for 6 weeks. During the first two weeks, a total of 20 subjects kept their normal diet and had 2 cups of fermented coffee every day for the rest of 2 weeks. After drinking fermentation coffee, a total of 20 subjects again kept their normal diet and non-drinking fermentation coffee. Prevotella copri was increased by fermented coffee in subjects with low abundance of Prevotella copri, and it was confirmed that increased Prevotella copri was involved in various metabolism. In this study, however, the practical effect of metabolism associated with increased Prevotella copri by fermented coffee was not evaluated. Therefore, further experiments on the effect of Prevotella copri, which is increased by fermented coffee, on the human body are considered to be necessary.