Table 3.
Fecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations (µmol/g dry content) of placebo- and pectin intervention groups at baseline and after four weeks supplementation, in young adults and elderly.
| Intervention | Young Adults | Elderly | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Intervention | Post-Intervention | p-Value * (Placebo vs. Pectin) | Pre-Intervention | Post-Intervention | p-Value * (Placebo vs. Pectin) | ||||||
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | ||||
| Acetic acid | Placebo | 210.2 | 182.7 | 263.7 | 233.3 | 0.202 | 167.9 | 95.0 | 230.5 | 188.1 | 0.548 |
| Pectin | 242.8 | 195.1 | 237.8 | 222.4 | 235.3 | 178.0 | 268.4 | 155.2 | |||
| Butyric acid | Placebo | 56.1 | 41.5 | 77.5 | 55.8 | 0.066 | 44.1 | 25.8 | 56.3 | 46.8 | 0.280 |
| Pectin | 62.6 | 49.1 | 61.1 | 47.2 | 69.2 | 63.9 | 67.3 | 37.5 | |||
| Isobutyric acid | Placebo | 6.2 | 2.4 | 7.9 | 4.9 | 0.495 | 6.1 | 3.7 | 7.2 | 4.3 | 0.290 |
| Pectin | 7.5 | 4.8 | 8.2 | 5.3 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 4.0 | |||
| Isovaleric acid | Placebo | 10.1 | 3.5 | 12.4 | 8.0 | 0.654 | 9.6 | 6.0 | 10.9 | 6.2 | 0.364 |
| Pectin | 11.2 | 7.2 | 12.5 | 8.2 | 12.7 | 11.2 | 11.8 | 6.4 | |||
| Propionic acid | Placebo | 71.0 | 69.6 | 99.4 | 131.0 | 0.074 | 40.7 | 18.0 | 52.6 | 32.5 | 0.752 |
| Pectin | 71.2 | 64.3 | 66.8 | 49.0 | 75.6 | 69.4 | 81.8 | 43.8 | |||
| Valeric acid | Placebo | 7.1 | 5.1 | 10.7 | 13.5 | 0.113 | 7.9 | 4.3 | 9.4 | 7.2 | 0.391 |
| Pectin | 9.8 | 7.4 | 9.6 | 5.5 | 10.8 | 8.3 | 10.3 | 4.1 | |||
* Corrected for baseline values. Within age groups, differences between interventions were tested by an unstructured linear mixed model and correction for baseline values. SD, standard deviation.