Effect of a Prebiotic Diet on Circadian Entrainment in Humans

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/9019s4020

Abstract

Sleep is a vital component to maintaining the health and physiology of all species. Disruptions to circadian rhythms can result in several negative physiological changes. Recent research on rodent models has shown that a prebiotic diet composed of polydextrose (PDX) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) resulted in accelerated circadian rhythm re-entrainment under circadian disruption. This study looked at whether or not the prebiotic diet would impact the phase of entrainment in humans. 11 healthy adults were subjected to sleep restriction/circadian misalignment and were given either a prebiotic diet or a control diet. Saliva samples were collected every 1-2 hours and melatonin concentrations were analyzed in the samples. The melatonin concentrations were fit to a harmonic regression and then analyzed for differences between the two conditions. No statistically significant differences were observed in melatonin **** in relation to relative clock hour between the two conditions indicating that there may not be an impact of prebiotics on melatonin rhythms in humans. Further research will need to be done on whether or not prebiotics are an effective strategy to reset circadian rhythms to a new timezone in humans.

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