POLYPHENOLS ARE TYPES OF PLANT COMPOUNDS FOUND IN VARIED AMOUNTS AND COMPOSITION IN THE FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND WHOLE GRAINS HUMANS CONSUME. SOME ARE ABSORBED WITHIN A FEW HOURS OF EATING, WHILE OTHERS ARE METABOLIZED BY THE BACTERIA IN THE LARGE INTESTINE TO SMALLER MOLECULES SUCH AS PHENOLIC ACIDS AND ARE ABSORBED SEVERAL HOURS AFTER EATING. THESE BACTERIA RESIDING IN THE LARGE INTESTINE ARE COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS GUT MICROBIOTA. "BIOACTIVE" COMPONENTS OF PLANT FOODS, SUCH AS CERTAIN FIBERS AND POLYPHENOLS PLAY A ROLE IN DETERMINING THE COMPOSITION AND METABOLIC ACTIVITY OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AIMS TO DEVELOP A SYSTEMATIC EVIDENCE BASE OF WHAT METABOLITES ARE FORMED FROM THESE BIOACTIVE COMPONENTS (POLYPHENOLS FROM STRAWBERRIES AND RED RASPBERRIES, FRUCTO-OLIGOSACCHARIDE (FOS, A TYPE OF FIBER) BY GUT MICROBIOTA, HOW THEY INFLUENCE THE COMPOSITION AND FUNCTION OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA AND WHETHER THIS RESULTS IN BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON INFLAMMATORY STATUS IN HUMANS. TO DISTINGUISH RESPONSES TO THE BERRY POLYPHENOLS AND TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIVE EFFECTS WITH FOS, TWO ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTAL ARMS WILL BE STUDIED INCLUDING FOS ALONE AND FOS PLUS THE BERRIES TOGETHER; EACH EXPERIMENTAL ARM COMPARED AGAINST A CONTROL DIET THAT HUMAN STUDY PARTICIPANTS WILL CONSUME.ADULT MEN AND WOMEN WITH CHRONIC LOW GRADE INFLAMMATION WILL BE RECRUITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY. ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO 1 OF 4 DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ARMS (22 PEOPLE PER ARM FOR A TOTAL OF 88 ENROLLED). PARTICIPANTS WILL SUPPLEMENT THEIR DIETS DAILY FOR 4 WEEKS WITH THE STUDY FOODS THAT WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE RESEARCH CENTER. BLOOD, URINE, AND FECES WILL BE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRST 24 H OF INTAKE AND THEN AGAIN OVER THE 4 WEEK PERIOD TO ACCESS: 1) CHANGES IN INFLAMMATORY STATUS USING KNOWN MARKERS OF INFLAMMATION IN THE BLOOD AND IN THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, 2) CHANGES IN METABOLITE POOLS (SPECIFIC POLYPHENOL METABOLITES FROM BERRIES AS WELL AS OTHER MICROBIOTA METABOLITES SUGGESTING CHANGE IN FUNCTION, SUCH AS BILE ACID METABOLITES) AND 3) CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION AND FUNCTION OF GUT MICROBIOTA COMMUNITY. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL ANALYZE ALL THE BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES THEY COLLECT FROM THE PARTICIPANTS USING CLINICAL ANALYZERS, ADVANCED MASS SPECTROMETRIC INSTRUMENTS, AND GENE SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY.WE EXPECT TO GENERATE NOVEL DATA ON BERRY POLYPHENOL COMPONENTS, THE ROLE OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA AS A MEDIATOR OF INFLAMMATION, AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE BENEFITS BY STRATEGICALLY COMBINING BIOACTIVE FOODS/FOOD COMPONENTS WITH COMPLIMENTARY ACTIONS.