Vitamin D and the gut microbiome: a systematic review of in vivo studies

Waterhouse, M. and Hope, B. and Krause, L. and Morrison, M. and Protani, M. M. and Zakrzewski, M. and Neale, R. E.

Eur J Nutr (2019) 58: 2895–2910

DOI: 10.1007/s00394-018-1842-7

Abstract

PURPOSE: Variation in the human microbiome has been linked with a variety of physiological functions, including immune regulation and metabolism and biosynthesis of vitamins, hormones, and neurotransmitters. Evidence for extraskeletal effects of vitamin D has been accruing and it has been suggested that the effect of vitamin D on health is partially mediated through the microbiome. We aimed to critically evaluate the evidence linking vitamin D and the gastrointestinal microbiome. METHODS: We systematically searched the Embase, Web of Science, PubMed and CINAHL databases, including peer-reviewed publications that reported an association between a measure of vitamin D and the gastrointestinal microbiome in humans or experimental animals. RESULTS: We included 10 mouse and 14 human studies. Mouse studies compared mice fed diets containing different levels of vitamin D (usually high versus low), or vitamin D receptor knockout or Cyp27B1 knockout with wild-type mice. Five mouse studies reported an increase in Bacteroidetes (or taxa within that phylum) in the low vitamin D diet or gene knockout group. Human studies were predominantly observational; all but two of the included studies found some association between vitamin D and the gut microbiome, but the nature of differences observed varied across studies. CONCLUSIONS: Despite substantial heterogeneity, we found evidence to support the hypothesis that vitamin D influences the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome. However, the research is limited, having been conducted either in mice or in mostly small, selected human populations. Future research in larger population-based studies is needed to fully understand the extent to which vitamin D modulates the microbiome.

Citation

Waterhouse, M., Hope, B., Krause, L., Morrison, M., Protani, M. M., Zakrzewski, M., & Neale, R. E. (2019). Vitamin D and the gut microbiome: a systematic review of in vivo studies. Eur J Nutr, 58(7), 2895–2910. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1842-7 Animals, Humans, Mice, Gastrointestinal Microbiome/*physiology, Models, Animal, Systematic review, Vitamin D, Diet/*methods, Gut microbiota, Microbiome, Vitamin D/*blood, Vitamins/*blood

Keywords

• Animals
• Humans
• Mice
• Gastrointestinal Microbiome/*physiology
• Models
• Animal
• Systematic review
• Vitamin D
• Diet/*methods
• Gut microbiota
• Microbiome
• Vitamin D/*blood
• Vitamins/*blood