Influence of diet (Teff-based Injera) on gut microbiome composition and subjective well-being in healthy adults.
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: Arm 1: Intervention group (Teff Injera + washout/follow-up)
Daily consumption of Teff-based Injera (100% Teff flour), approximately 200–400 g per day, for 14 days. Injera is consumed once dai
timing is freely chosen. Adherence is additionally monitored via weekly online questionnaires.
This is followed by a 2-week washout/follow-up period (14 days) with no Injera, during which participants
Sponsors
Universität Zürich, Institute of Molecular Cancer Research
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Age between 18 and 65 years Healthy adults without known chronic inflammatory, autoimmune, or metabolic diseases Willingness to participate for the entire study duration Willingness to consume Teff-based Injera daily for 14 days (intervention group only) Willingness to provide stool and blood samples at the scheduled time points Sufficient command of English to understand study information and questionnaires Written informed consent
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Diagnosed gastrointestinal, autoimmune, or metabolic disorders Use of antibiotics or probiotics within the last 3 months Known allergy or intolerance to Teff or related grains Pregnancy or breastfeeding Participation in another interventional clinical study within the last 30 days Inability to provide informed consent Acute illness at the time of enrolment
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| WHAT: Gut microbiome composition at species level and beta-diversity. WHEN: Comparison between Baseline (before start of the intervention) and End of intervention (W2, after 14 days of Injera consumption). HOW: Analysis of stool samples using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Data are evaluated using beta-diversity metrics (e.g. Bray–Curtis dissimilarity) and relative abundance of bacterial taxa at species level, applying standardised bioinformatic pipelines followed by statistical post-processing in R. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in gut microbiome diversity and composition after one week and at 4-week follow-up. Subjective well-being and gastrointestinal symptoms assessed using a study-specific Likert-scale questionnaire. Change in systemic inflammatory and metabolic markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, lipid profile). Dietary adherence assessed by food frequency questionnaires. | — |
Countries
Switzerland
Contacts
Public ContactLydia Kirsche
Universität Zürich, Institute of Molecular Cancer Research
Outcome results
None listed