Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 28, 2019; 25(12): 1478-1491
Published online Mar 28, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i12.1478
Gut microbiota profile in healthy Indonesians
Endang Sutriswati Rahayu, Tyas Utami, Mariyatun Mariyatun, Pratama Nur Hasan, Rafli Zulfa Kamil, Ryan Haryo Setyawan, Fathyah Hanum Pamungkaningtyas, Iskandar Azmy Harahap, Devin Varian Wiryohanjoyo, Putrika Citta Pramesi, Muhammad Nur Cahyanto, I Nengah Sujaya, Mohammad Juffrie
Endang Sutriswati Rahayu, Tyas Utami, Mariyatun Mariyatun, Pratama Nur Hasan, Rafli Zulfa Kamil, Ryan Haryo Setyawan, Fathyah Hanum Pamungkaningtyas, Iskandar Azmy Harahap, Devin Varian Wiryohanjoyo, Putrika Citta Pramesi, Muhammad Nur Cahyanto, Department of Food and Agricultural Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
I Nengah Sujaya, Department of Public Health, Udayana University, Denpasar 80234, Indonesia
Mohammad Juffrie, Department of Public Health, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
Author contributions: Rahayu ES acted as the lead investigator; Utami T supervised the field research at the Yogyakarta site; Mariyatun performed the majority of field research at both sites; Hasan PN, Kamil RZ and Setyawan RH participated equally in field research at both sites; Pamungkaningtyas FH and Harahap IA assisted with field research and performed data analysis; Wiryohanjoyo DV wrote the paper; Pramesi PC edited the paper and was responsible for journal submission; Cahyanto MN was the consultant for the research design; Sujaya IN supervised the research at the Bali site; Juffrie M consulted from both the medical and ethical view.
Supported by The Yakult Honsha, Co., Ltd.
Institutional review board statement: All subjects agreed to participate in this study after informed consent and ethical permission was obtained.
Informed consent statement: All subjects agreed to participate in this study after informed consent and ethical permission was obtained.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: No animals were included in this study.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Endang Sutriswati Rahayu, Dr, Professor, Department of Food and Agricultural Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jalan Flora No. 1, Bulaksumur, Sleman, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia. endangsrahayu@ugm.ac.id
Telephone: +26-274-589797
Received: November 21, 2018
Peer-review started: November 22, 2018
First decision: December 12, 2018
Revised: January 11, 2019
Accepted: January 26, 2019
Article in press: January 26, 2019
Published online: March 28, 2019
Processing time: 127 Days and 5.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Recently, gut microbiota has been associated with various diseases other than intestinal disease. Thus, there has been rapid growth in the study of gut microbiota. Considering the numerous factors influencing gut microbiota such as age, diet, etc., area-based research is required. Indonesia has numerous different tribes and each of these tribes have different lifestyles. Hence, it is expected that each tribe has a specific gut microbiota. A deeper insight into the composition of gut microbiota can be used to determine the condition of gut microbiota in Indonesians and to consider which treatment may be suitable and effective to improve health status.

AIM

To investigate the gut microbiota of Indonesian subjects represented by Javanese and Balinese tribes by analyzing fecal samples.

METHODS

Fecal samples were collected from a total of 80 individuals with 20 in each of the young groups ranging from 25-45 years and the elderly group aged 70 years or more from two different regions, Yogyakarta and Bali. Fecal sample collection was performed at the end of the assessment period (day 14 ± 1 d) during which time the subjects were not allowed to consume probiotic or antibiotic products. The quantification of various Clostridium subgroups, Lactobacillus subgroups, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Bacteroides fragilis group and Prevotella, Bifidobacterium and Atopobium cluster, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas was performed using the Yakult intestinal flora-scan (YIF-SCAN).

RESULTS

The bacterial population in younger subjects’ feces was higher than that in the elderly population, with a total of approximately 10.0 – 10.6 log10 bacterial cells/g feces. The most abundant bacteria in all groups were Clostridium, followed by Prevotella, Atopobium, Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides. In the elderly, an increase in Enterobacteriaceae, Coliform and Escherichia coli was found. In terms of bacterial counts in Yogyakarta, total bacteria, Clostridium coccoides (C. coccoides) group, Bifidobacterium, Prevotella, Lactobacillus plantarum subgroup, and Streptococcus were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in younger than elderly subjects, while the Lactobacillus gasseri subgroup, Lactobacillus casei subgroup, and Lactobacillus reuteri subgroup counts were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in younger subjects. In Balinese subjects, total bacteria, C. coccoides group, Clostridium leptum subgroup, Bacteroides fragilis group, and Prevotella were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in younger compared to elderly individuals, while the Lactobacillus ruminis subgroup, and Enterobacteriaceae were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in younger subjects. The results also revealed that, besides the C. coccoides group and Clostridium leptum group being the most abundant gut microbiota in both Yogyakarta and Balinese people, the latter was indicated by a higher Clostridium perfringens count, which was almost 10 times that of Yogyakarta subjects. This may be a response to different lifestyles in the different tribes; however, this phenomenon requires further extensive study.

CONCLUSION

Bacterial populations were higher in younger than in elderly subjects. Most abundant bacterial groups were Clostridium, Prevotella, Atopobium, Bifidobacterium, and Bacteroides. The level of Clostridium perfringens in Yogyakarta subjects was lower than that in Balinese subjects.

Keywords: Gut microbiota; Indonesian; Elderly; Young people; Enterotype

Core tip: Research on gut microbiota has been growing rapidly due to their relationship with various diseases. Two factors influencing gut microbiota are age and location. Indonesia has numerous different tribes. Hence, it is expected that each tribe will have a specific gut microbiota. This research aimed to investigate the gut microbiota of Indonesians represented by Javanese and Balinese tribes. The results showed that bacterial populations were higher in younger than elderly subjects. The most common bacterial groups were Clostridium, Prevotella, Atopobium, Bifidobacterium, and Bacteroides. The level of Clostridium perfringens between the tribes was different, which might be associated with diet and lifestyle.