4. Discussion
MALNOURISHED
The intricate influence of gut microbiota on host health and physiological processes has garnered increasing attention, particularly regarding the impact of microbial metabolites. In this study, we investigated the relationship between SCFAs derived from gut microbiota and growth hormone levels in relation to long-term egg supplementation in primary school students. Our aim is to display the potential interplay between dietary egg interventions, gut microbiota, and host physiology. Our findings suggest that long-term supplementation with whole eggs leads to an increase in circulating IGF-1 levels, which could potentially contribute to both bone formation and skeletal growth. This discovery aligns with previous studies [We identified a positive correlation between circulating IGF-1 and all SCFAs, except for acetate. However, it remains uncertain whether these correlations extend to microbiota metabolites, and the underlying mechanism of this association remains unexplored. Recent data have shown that microbiota-metabolites, especially SCFAs, can induce IGF-1, indicating a potential mechanism through which the microbiota may impact bone health [In addition, our findings showed that the overall content of SCFA, including acetate, propionate, and butyrate, remained relatively consistent with whole egg supplementation. Concerning the results regarding the relationship between gut microbiota and SCFAs production following 35 weeks of whole egg supplementation, among the 42 gut bacteria that displayed changes in relative abundance from the lowest and highest analyses in this study, Nevertheless, the emerging scientific literature has established a connection between reduced The microbiome holds the potential to significantly influence the host’s absorption of various dietary nutrients, thereby indirectly impacting the physiology of micronutrients [Several factors, including the physicochemical properties of foods, nutrient availability, colonic transit time, and the host’s age, can potentially influence how diet affects the colonic microbiota [This research boasts several strengths. To the best of our knowledge, it represents the first long-term study of continuous egg supplementation and its effects on gut metabolites such as SCFAs in malnourished children. This suggests that eggs, in addition to conventional protein sources like milk, can serve as a valuable option for supplementation to effectively stimulate the production of gut bacteria metabolites. Another notable strength lies in our identification of a connection between growth factors and the end products of the gut microbiota, potentially shedding light on an indirect link to improved growth.Nevertheless, this study does have certain limitations. Firstly, whole egg supplementation was provided during school breaks, making it difficult to control additional egg consumption by participants in both the protein substitute group and the control group during weekends and school breaks. Secondly, the time during transportation and sample extraction can impact the concentration of gut metabolite production. Ideally, the optimal timeframe for extraction should be within 1 h or a maximum of 24 h [