Dietary fiber mitigates the differential impact of beef and chicken meat consumption on rat intestinal health

In this study, rats were fed a diet high in red (beef) or white (chicken) meat with or without added fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), following a 2 x 2 factorial design. We hypothesized that the differential effects of red versus white meat consumption on gut health would be more pronounced in fiber-deprived diets, and attenuated in fiber-rich diets. Following three weeks on the experimental diets, the gut microbial composition in the colon, fecal and cecal metabolites related to fiber fermentation (SCFA) and protein fermentation (indole, cresol, phenol, ammonia and sulfur metabolites (CS2, dimethyl sulfides and methanethiol), oxidative stress (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), protein carbonyl compounds (PCC), glutathione and glutathione peroxidase activity), DNA adducts, histology, and inflammation (C-reactive protein) markers were assessed.