Resistant starch improves Parkinson’s disease symptoms through restructuring of the gut microbiome and modulating inflammation
Alterations in the gut microbiome and a "leaky" gut are associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), which implies the prospect of rebalancing via dietary intervention. Here, we investigate the impact of a diet rich in resistant starch on the gut microbiome through a multi-omics approach. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial with short-term and long-term phases involving 74 PD patients of three groups: conventional diet, supplementation with resistant starch, and high-fibre diet. Our findings reveal associations between dietary patterns and changes in the gut microbiome's taxonomic composition, functional potential, metabolic activity, and host inflammatory proteome response. Resistant starch supplementation led to an increase in Faecalibacterium species and short-chain fatty acids alongside a reduction in opportunistic pathogens. Long-term supplementation also increased blood APOA4 and HSPA5 and reduced symptoms of PD. Our study highlights the potential of dietary interventions to modulate the gut microbiome and improve the quality of life for PD patients.
Authors
- Oskar Hickl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9959-8767)
- Laura Lebrun
- Joachim Schulz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9310-8832)
- Elisabeth Lang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5748-1376)
- В. А. Петров (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5205-9739)
- Velma T. E. Aho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2916-7018)
- Kevin Mills (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0763-8288)
- Marcus M. Unger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0805-6968)
- Patrick May (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8698-3770)
- Sebastian Schade (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6316-6804)
- Jenny Hällqvist (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6709-3211)
- Paul Wilmes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6478-2924)
- Cédric C. Laczny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1100-1282)
- Brit Mollenhauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8437-3645)
- Rashi Halder
- Christian Jäger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4235-7430)
- Jordan Caussin
Institutions
- University of Luxembourg (LU)
- Luxembourg Institute of Health (LU)
- Paracelsus Elena Klinik Kassel (DE)
- UCL Biomedical Research Centre (GB)
- Sonneberg Observatory (DE)
- Klinikum Saarbrücken (DE)
- University College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Brain Behavior and Immunity
- Published
- 2025-12-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2025.106217
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
- Université du Luxembourg
- European Commission
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg