Intake of Natural, Unprocessed Tiger Nuts ( L.) Drink Significantly Favors Intestinal Beneficial Bacteria in a Short Period of Time.

Horchata is a natural drink obtained from tiger nut tubers ( L.). It has a pleasant milky aspect and nutty flavor; some health benefits have been traditionally attributed to it. This study evaluated the effects of an unprocessed horchata drink on the gut microbiota of healthy adult volunteers ( = 31) who consumed 300 mL of natural, unprocessed horchata with no added sugar daily for 3 days. Although there were no apparent microbial profile changes induced by horchata consumption in the studied population, differences could be determined when volunteers were segmented by microbial clusters. Three distinctive enterogroups were identified previous to consuming horchata, respectively characterized by the relative abundances of and (B1), (B2) and and (B3). After consuming horchata, samples of all volunteers were grouped into two clusters, one enriched in , and (A1) and the other with a remarkable presence of and (A2). Interestingly, the impact of horchata was dependent on the previous microbiome of each individual, and its effect yielded microbial profiles associated with butyrate production, which are typical of a Mediterranean or vegetable/fiber-rich diet and could be related to the presence of high amylose starch and polyphenols.