Prolonged consumption of white beer increases levels of short-chain fatty acids and Prevotellaceae bacteria in mice

Beer is a prominent fermented food product and is regarded as the one of most widely consumed beverage globally. There is a dearth of studies examining the impact of different types of beer with intricate components as a comprehensive intervention on human health and immune status. This study used a 14-day continuous drinking intervention consisting of 5 beers, namely white beer, India pale ale (IPA), Pilsner, non-alcoholic beer, and premium lager beer. Surprisingly, our findings indicate that consuming white beer has little impact on the gut microbiota and physiological condition of mice, whereas consuming other types of beer leads to an increase in Lactobacillus and a decrease in Lachnospiraceae. In addition, we devised an extended feeding experiment to investigate the comparative safety and health benefits of consuming white beer. The research showed that when mice drank excessive quantities of white beer over 42 days, the intestines of the mice had more Prevotellaceae and the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio (F/B ratio) had a decline from 1.29 to 0.38. The levels of acetic acid, propionic acid, and isobutyric acid increased from 1.0, 0.27, and 0.015 mg/g to 1.28, 0.38, and 0.037 mg/g, respectively (P < 0.05). There were no significant changes observed in the levels of most measured cytokines in the colon tissue of mice that consumed beer, however, there was an increase in the concentration of the inflammatory factor tumor nesrosis factor-α (TNF-α) from 135.86 pg/mL in the control group to 189.78 pg/mL in the white beer group (P < 0.01). These results give us real-world proof that we can use to study how different beers affect the host’s health and satisfaction in future research.