Northumbria University researchers have found that swapping red and processed meat for Quorn’s mycoprotein, a fungi-based meat alternative, leads to a significant reduction in intestinal genotoxins — which can cause bowel cancer — and increases healthy gut bacteria.

诺森比亚大学的研究人员发现，Quorn的真菌蛋白（一种基于真菌的肉类替代品）代替红肉和加工肉，可以显著减少肠道基因毒素（可能导致肠癌），并增加健康的肠道细菌。

Their study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, explored the effects of replacing a high red and processed meat intake with mycoprotein on the levels of cancer-causing genotoxins, found in the intestines, as well as the impact on gut health.

他们的研究发表在《欧洲营养学杂志》上，探讨了用真菌蛋白取代大量红肉和加工肉类摄入对肠道中致癌基因毒素水平的影响，以及对肠道健康的影响。

The randomised clinical trial followed 20 healthy male adults aged 18–50 and was split into two distinct phases. The meat phase saw participants consume 240 g of red and processed meat — including beef steak, pork sausages and ham slices — each day for a two-week period. For the mycoprotein phase, they consumed the same weight in fungi-derived mycoprotein equivalents over a separate two-week period, with a ‘washout’ period of four weeks between the two phases.

这项随机临床试验调查了20名年龄在18-50岁之间的健康成年男性，分为两个不同的阶段。在肉类阶段，参与者每天摄入240克红肉和加工肉类，包括牛排、猪肉香肠和火腿片，持续两周。在真菌蛋白阶段，他们在单独的两周时间内，摄入相同重量的真菌衍生的真菌蛋白等价物，两个阶段之间有四周的“洗脱”期。

Analysis of stool and urine samples from the mycoprotein phase revealed that levels of detected genotoxins like nitroso compounds （NOC） and p-cresol — chemical contaminants that have been found to be potential cancer risk markers — were significantly reduced. Conversely, results from the meat phase showed that genotoxin levels had risen, potentially increasing the long-term risk of bowel cancer. The difference between the meat and mycoprotein phases was statistically significant.

对真菌蛋白阶段的粪便和尿液样本的分析显示，检测到的基因毒素，如亚硝基化合物（NOC）和对甲酚（已被发现是潜在癌症风险标志的化学污染物）的水平显著降低。相反，肉类阶段的结果显示基因毒素水平上升，潜在地增加了患肠癌的长期风险。肉蛋白期和真菌蛋白期之间的差异具有统计学意义。

As well as delivering significant reductions in harmful genotoxins, the mycoprotein diet was also found to significantly improve gut health, increasing the abundance of protective bacteria such as Lactobacilli, Roseburia and Akkermansia, which are associated with offering protection against chemically induced tumours, inflammation and bowel cancer. In contrast, findings from the meat phase revealed an increase in gut bacteria linked with issues such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, weight gain and other negative health outcomes.

除了显著减少有害基因毒素外，还发现真菌蛋白饮食可显著改善肠道健康，增加乳酸菌、玫瑰菌和阿克曼氏菌等保护性细菌的数量，这些细菌与化学诱导肿瘤、炎症和肠癌的保护有关。相比之下，肉类阶段的研究结果显示，肠道细菌的增加与癌症、心血管疾病、体重增加和其他负面健康结果等问题有关。

“The study showed that this dietary change delivers a significant reduction in genotoxicity and an increase in beneficial gut microbes. Our findings suggest therefore that this high-fibre protein source provides a good alternative to meat in the context of gut health and could help to reduce long-term bowel cancer risk.”

“研究表明，这种饮食的改变可以显著降低遗传毒性，增加肠道有益微生物。因此，我们的研究结果表明，这种高纤维蛋白质来源为肠道健康提供了一种很好的肉类替代品，并有助于降低长期肠癌风险。”