Probiotic Fortification of Pearl Millet Beverage and Its Impact on Gut Microbial Diversity

Abstract

Background: A shelf-stable non-dairy beverage may broaden access to microbiome-directed foods.
Objective: To evaluate pearl millet beverage fortified with Lactobacillus plantarum and Bifidobacterium animalis in comparison with pasteurized non-probiotic pearl millet beverage using a randomized controlled microbiome trial.
Methods: The draft protocol included 72 experimental units or participants involving healthy adults with low habitual fiber intake. The intervention was administered or tested for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was Shannon microbial diversity index, with additional assessment of Bifidobacterium relative abundance, fecal short-chain fatty acids, gastrointestinal symptom score, beverage acceptability. Standardized laboratory, clinical, or food-analysis procedures were applied, and between-condition effects were evaluated with two-sided tests at α=0.05.
Results: The probiotic pearl millet beverage increased Shannon diversity from 3.02 ± 0.31 to 3.46 ± 0.35, compared with a minimal change from 3.01 ± 0.29 to 3.08 ± 0.30 in controls (p<0.001). Bifidobacterium relative abundance increased by 3.9 percentage points and fecal butyrate by 28.4%, while gastrointestinal symptom scores remained low and beverage acceptability averaged 7.6 ± 0.7 of 9. The direction and magnitude of the dummy findings were internally consistent across primary and secondary endpoints, and tolerability or assay-quality criteria remained acceptable.
Conclusion: The example dataset suggests that pearl millet beverage fortified with Lactobacillus plantarum and Bifidobacterium animalis could produce a meaningful improvement in Shannon microbial diversity index through delivery of viable probiotics in a cereal matrix with fermentable millet substrates that support microbial cross-feeding. These findings are intended solely as a complete manuscript-development example and require replacement with ethically generated, independently verified observations before scientific submission.