Adjuvant Effect of Orally Applied Preparations Containing Non-Digestible Polysaccharides on Influenza Vaccination in Healthy Seniors: A Double-Blind, Randomised, Controlled Pilot Trial

Christiane Laue (1) , Yala Stevens (2) , Monique van Erp (2) , Ekaterina Papazova (1) , Edlyn Soeth (1) , Angelika Pannenbeckers (1) , Ellen Stolte (3) , Ruwen Böhm (1) , Sophie Le Gall (4) , Xavier Falourd (4) , Simon Ballance (5) , Svein Knutsen (5) , Iris Pinheiro (6) , Sam Possemiers , Paul Ryan (7, 8) , R. Paul Ross (8) , Catherine Stanton (8) , Jerry Wells (3) , Sylvie van Der Werf (9, 10) , Jurriaan Mes (3) , Juergen Schrezenmeir (1)

1 Clinical Research Center Kiel [Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany]
2 BioActor [Maastricht]
3 WUR - Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen]
4 BIA - Unité de recherche sur les Biopolymères, Interactions Assemblages
5 NOFIMA - Norwegian Institute of Food,Fisheries and Aquaculture Research
6 ProDigest [Ghent, Belgium]
7 Teagasc Food Research Centre [Fermoy, Ireland]
8 UCC - University College Cork
9 GMV-ARN (UMR_3569 / U-Pasteur_2) - Génétique Moléculaire des Virus à ARN - Molecular Genetics of RNA Viruses
10 CNR - laboratoire coordonnateur - Centre National de Référence des virus des infections respiratoires (dont la grippe) - National Reference Center Virus Influenzae [Paris]

Senior individuals can suffer from immunosenescence and novel strategies to bolster the immune response could contribute to healthy ageing. In this double-blind, randomised, controlled pilot trial, we investigated the ability of non-digestible polysaccharide (NPS) preparations to enhance the immune response in a human vaccination model. In total, 239 subjects (aged 50–79 years) were randomised to consume one of five different NPS (yeast β-glucan (YBG), shiitake β-glucan (SBG), oat β-glucan (OBG), arabinoxylan (AX), bacterial exopolysaccharide (EPS)) or control (CTRL) product daily for five weeks. After two weeks of intervention, subjects were vaccinated with seasonal influenza vaccine. The post-vaccination increases in haemagglutination inhibition antibody titres and seroprotection rate against the influenza strains were non-significantly enhanced in the NPS intervention groups compared to CTRL. Specifically, a trend towards a higher mean log2 fold increase was observed in the AX group (uncorrected p = 0.074) combined with a trend for an increased seroprotection rate, AX group (48.7%) compared to CTRL (25.6%) (uncorrected p = 0.057), for the influenza A H1N1 strain. Subjects consuming AX also had a reduced incidence of common colds compared to CTRL (1 vs. 8; p = 0.029 in Fisher exact test). No adverse effects of NPS consumption were reported. The findings of this pilot study warrant further research to study AX as an oral adjuvant to support vaccine efficacy.

Keywords: adjuvant; arabinoxylan; cold; immunity; influenza; non-digestible polysaccharide; prebiotics; vaccination; β-glucan

Domains: Bioengineering; Vaccinology

Christiane Laue, Yala Stevens, Monique van Erp, Ekaterina Papazova, Edlyn Soeth, et al.. Adjuvant Effect of Orally Applied Preparations Containing Non-Digestible Polysaccharides on Influenza Vaccination in Healthy Seniors: A Double-Blind, Randomised, Controlled Pilot Trial. Nutrients, 2021, 13 (8), pp.2683. ⟨10.3390/nu13082683⟩. ⟨pasteur-04098220⟩