Researchers from the National Centre for Microbial Resource and collaborating institutions analyzed stool samples from 15 tribal communities spread across diverse geographic regions of India. The study compared these microbiomes with existing data from urban Indian and Western cohorts to assess the influence of long-standing dietary patterns.
The tribal groups studied rely on traditional subsistence strategies including foraging, shifting cultivation, and consumption of wild tubers, millets, leafy greens, and fermented foods prepared without commercial starter cultures. Their diets are consistently high in complex plant polysaccharides and low in processed sugars, refined oils, and animal protein.
Sequencing revealed that the tribal microbiomes harbor significantly higher bacterial diversity and a distinct composition enriched for fiber-degrading genera such as Prevotella, Succinivibrio, and Treponema. Many operational taxonomic units detected in the tribal samples were absent from reference databases built primarily on industrialized populations.
Functional profiling indicated enhanced pathways for carbohydrate-active enzymes, short-chain fatty acid production, and vitamin biosynthesis in the tribal microbiomes. These metabolic features align with the dietary intake of resistant starches and non-digestible fibers that reach the colon largely intact.
The authors note that rapid dietary transitions, habitat loss, and integration into market economies are already altering food habits in several of the studied communities. They warn that the associated microbial shifts may be difficult to reverse once traditional food systems disappear.
To capture this diversity before it is lost, the researchers recommend establishing a dedicated biobank of tribal gut microbes, including anaerobic isolates and metagenomic assemblies. They argue that such a resource would enable the development of region-specific probiotic and prebiotic formulations tailored to Indian genetic and dietary backgrounds.
The study acknowledges limitations including cross-sectional design, relatively small sample sizes per tribe, and the lack of longitudinal data tracking microbiome changes during dietary transition. Further work is needed to link specific microbial features to health outcomes in these populations.
The findings add to a growing body of evidence that human microbiomes are highly plastic and shaped by ecology and culture, underscoring the value of studying non-industrialized groups while their traditional lifestyles persist.
Traditional diets shape unique gut microbes of Indian tribes
This is an independent summary. The complete reporting, supporting context and any primary documents remain with The Hindu.