Habitual coffee intake was associated with distinct gut microbiome, metabolite, and cognitive patterns, some of which changed with abstinence or reintroduction independent of caffeine.
Evidence
This human study in healthy participants compared coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers and assessed faecal microbiome composition, metabolites, coffee-related metabolites, and cognitive measures across registered protocols NCT05927038 and NCT05927103.
Caveat
The abstract reports group differences and reversible metabolome or acute microbiome changes, but it does not establish that coffee-caused the broader cognitive and microbiome associations.
Simplified
Coffee influences multiple physiological processes, including gut function, stress, cognition, and the microbiome. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined coffee's impact on the -a bidirectional communication pathway between the gut microbiome and the brain-and assessed whether these effects occur independently of caffeine in healthy participants. Our primary outcome was microbiota composition and function, whereas the secondary outcome was gut microbial metabolites and coffee-related metabolites (NCT05927038 and NCT05927103). Significant group differences emerged in faecal microbiome composition, with coffee drinkers showing increased relative abundance of Cryptobacterium and Eggerthella species, alongside reduced levels of the metabolite's indole-3-propionic acid, indole-3-carboxyaldehyde, and the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid. Behaviourally, coffee drinkers exhibited greater impulsivity and emotional reactivity, whereas non-coffee drinkers demonstrated better memory performance. Some alterations in the faecal metabolome were reversible following coffee abstinence, and reintroduction triggered acute microbiome changes independent of caffeine. An integrated model identified nine key metabolites-including theophylline, caffeine, and selected phenolic acids-strongly linked to microbial species and cognitive measures. These findings reveal previously unrecognised effects of coffee on the microbiota-gut-brain axis, suggesting that microbiome profiles could potentially predict coffee consumption patterns and highlighting a close association between coffee intake and gut microbial composition.
Full Text
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Gut-Brain Axis