{"doi":"10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.07.008","title":"Pinto Bean Supplementation Modulates Gut Microbiota and Improves Markers of Gut Integrity in a Mouse Model of Estrogen Deficiency","abstract":"BACKGROUND: Emerging research suggests that changes in gut microbiota play a key role in menopause-related diseases by modulating gut health. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effects of pinto bean (PB) supplementation on gut integrity in an estrogen-deficient mouse model. METHODS: Sixty 3-mo-old female C57BL/6J mice were injected with either sesame oil (vehicle) or vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD, 160 mg/kg) for 30 d to induce estrogen deficiency. Mice were then randomly assigned to 2 dietary groups (n = 15/group): control (AIN-93M) or AIN-93M + 10% (wt/wt) PB for 16 wk. Ovarian failure was confirmed by uterine weight and serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Gut health was assessed by measuring tight junction proteins, β-glucuronidase activity, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and 16S microbiota composition. PB was evaluated for its estrogenic effects by molecular docking analysis of the identified polyphenols against estrogen receptor (ER)-α and ER-β. Data were analyzed by 2-way analysis of variance, with estrogen status (VCD) and diet as factors followed by post hoc tests when significant (P < 0.05) interaction effect was observed. RESULTS: =0.010) β-glucuronidase activity (∼25%). PB enriched some beneficial bacteria genera (i.e., Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Dubosiella, and Lactobacillus) and increased fecal acetic, propionic, n-butyric, and total SCFAs by 2-fold compared with those on the control diet. Molecular docking analysis identified sinapic and ferulic acid as phytoestrogens in PB with high binding affinity for ERs. CONCLUSIONS: PB supplementation improves gut microbial diversity and integrity in estrogen deficiency, offering potential benefits for menopause-related gut health.","journal":"Journal of Nutrition","year":2025,"id":526302,"datarank":0.20794415416798362,"base_score":1.3862943611198906,"endowment":1.3862943611198906,"self_citation_contribution":0.20794415416798362,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.20794415416798362,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":3,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9565,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1237745,"name":"Sanmi Alake","orcid":"0000-0002-9383-229X","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402412,"name":"Ranjitha Chandrashekar","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1238132,"name":"Proapa Islam","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402413,"name":"Brooke Sutton","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402414,"name":"Nathan Chaffin","orcid":null,"position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1349628,"name":"Chinemerem H Ugo","orcid":null,"position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1402415,"name":"Jong Beom Jin","orcid":null,"position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1107098,"name":"Stanley Lightfoot","orcid":null,"position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1284114,"name":"Jean Debédat","orcid":"0000-0002-8377-5965","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":826368,"name":"Anthony L. Schilmiller","orcid":"0000-0001-7069-7120","position":10,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":315242,"name":"Winyoo Chowanadisai","orcid":"0000-0003-2396-9925","position":11,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":265399,"name":"Trina A. Knotts","orcid":null,"position":12,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":315239,"name":"Brenda J. Smith","orcid":"0000-0002-7296-8534","position":13,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1261833,"name":"Edralin A Lucas","orcid":null,"position":14,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1401810,"name":"Femi Olawale","orcid":"0000-0003-0698-1711","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":90,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:50:30.402772Z","pmid":"40680856","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}