Research

Mixed

Inulin supplementation increases the abundance of Bifidobacterium, but this increase is a signature of intake rather than a direct driver of the observed metabolic improvements.

Don't assume that just because inulin boosts Bifidobacterium, that this specific bacteria is responsible for your health benefits. The actual metabolic improvements are linked to other changes in your gut bacteria, such as a decrease in Desulfovibrio and Clostridium sensu stricto.

GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
A large increase in Bifidobacterium appears as a signature of inulin intake rather than a driver of prebiotic-linked biological outcomes.
Sophie Hiel et al. · Clinical Nutrition · 2020

Why this rating

Based on 16S rDNA sequencing and correlation analysis in a randomized trial.

Source

Link between gut microbiota and health outcomes in inulin -treated obese patients: Lessons from the Food4Gut multicenter randomized placebo-controlled trial

Sophie Hiel et al. · Clinical Nutrition · 2020

DOI 10.1016/j.clnu.2020.04.005

rct · n=150Cited 167×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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