Dietary fiber reduces androgen concentrations in polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome

A clinical trial demonstrated that a dietary fiber combination of inulin, resistant starch, and β-glucan reduces androgen concentrations in plasma of patients with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). The study, published in Science, found that dietary fiber increased the abundance of Bacteroides xylanisolvens, which converts androstenedione into coproandrosterone, a nonandrogenic secondary hormone metabolite. This metabolite is further processed by gut microbiota into dihydro-coproandrosterone. The metabolic pathway was validated in a mouse model, indicating the potential of dietary fiber to modulate androgen homeostasis through gut microbiota, which may inform prebiotic and probiotic therapies for PMOS.