Differential effects of pea protein isolate, pea protein concentrate, and whey protein isolate supplementation on gut microbiota and metabolic markers in healthy adults: a 3-arm parallel randomised intervention.

In 30 seconds

This double-blind, three-arm randomised dietary intervention compared four weeks of pea protein concentrate (PPC), pea protein isolate (PPI), or whey protein isolate (WPI) supplementation in healthy adults. Participants received 0.5 g/kg body mass/day, and the main outcome was gut microbiota composition. PPC and PPI supplementation significantly reduced α-diversity and increased β-diversity, with some modulation by BMI. Species-level changes differed by protein: PPC was associated with increases in Anaerobutyricum hallii and Bifidobacterium longum, while PPI was associated with increases in Lactobacillus crispatus and Limosilactobacillus frumenti.

Key findings

• PPC and PPI significantly reduced gut microbial α-diversity and increased β-diversity; these changes were partly modulated by BMI.
• PPC supplementation significantly increased the relative abundances of Anaerobutyricum hallii and Bifidobacterium longum.
• PPI supplementation significantly increased the relative abundances of Lactobacillus crispatus and Limosilactobacillus frumenti.

Why it matters

The findings suggest that protein source and formulation can be associated with distinct gut microbial compositional changes, rather than plant and animal proteins having uniform effects. This is relevant to evaluating dietary protein choices, but the clinical significance of the observed microbial shifts is uncertain because the study did not establish whether they alter microbial function or health outcomes.

What to keep in mind

The intervention lasted four weeks, and the abstract reports microbiota composition as the main outcome; it notes that further studies are needed to determine whether compositional changes translate into functional changes.