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Wang, L.* ; Li, J.Y.* ; Zhu, X.Q.* ; Jiang, J.C.* ; Li, C.* ; Zheng, Z.H.* ; Wang, Z.* ; Zhao, T. ; Markevych, I.* ; Heinrich, J.* ; Dadvand, P.* ; Browing, M.H.E.M.* ; Chen, C.* ; Huang, J.L.* ; Dong, G.H.* ; Yang, B.Y.*

Intervention effects of greenspace exposure on human microbiota: A randomized controlled trial in Chinese young adults.

Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 296:118183 (2025)

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Enriching human microbiota has been proposed as a mechanism by which greenspace exposure improves human health. The existing evidence is scarce with few studies able to evaluate causality. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of 30 healthy undergraduate students to explore the intervention effects of greenspace on human gut and oral microbiota alpha-diversity, composition, differential genera and functional pathways. The study participants were divided into three groups, including outdoor greenspace (GS) group, outdoor non-greenspace (NGS) group, and indoor group, who visited a park, an open space without vegetation, and a classroom, respectively, for two hours per day over seven days. Differences in microbial alpha-diversity and composition across various groups were tested using Wilcoxon test and permutational multivariate analysis of variance, respectively. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis was performed to test differences in genera and functional pathways. Greenspace intervention significantly increased gut microbiota alpha-diversity, especially the observed Amplicon Sequence variant indexes and the Faith indexes (both p < 0.05). In addition, the intervention substantially changed the composition of gut microbiota, of which the relative abundances of potentially beneficial bacteria increased. Further, the greenspace intervention affected several functional pathways of gut microbiota, including "substance dependence", "specific types of cancer", and "viral infectious diseases". However, we did not find any significant effect of greenspace intervention on oral microbiota. Our results suggest that greenspace intervention diversifies the gut microbiota and alters its composition. These findings could help to reinforce the potential of increasing people's access to greenspace as a public health intervention.

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Publication type Article: Journal article

Document type Scientific Article

Corresponding Author

Keywords Greenspace ; Gut Microbiota ; Human Microbiota ; Natural Environment ; Oral Microbiota; Gut-microbiota; Health; Pollution; Cities

ISSN (print) / ISBN 0147-6513

e-ISSN 0147-6513

Journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Quellenangaben Volume: 296, Article Number: 118183

Publisher Elsevier

Publishing Place 525 B St, Ste 1900, San Diego, Ca 92101-4495 Usa

Non-patent literature Publications

Reviewing status Peer reviewed

Institute(s) Institute of Epidemiology (EPI)

Grants
National plan for recovery and resilience - European Union
Establishment of a network of research higher schools
Strategic research and innovation program for the development of Medical University-Plovdiv
Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
National Natural Science Foundation of China