Alternative proteins and gut health: balancing sustainability and uncertainty

The need to nourish the increasing world population while ensuring the environmental sustainability of the food system boosted research in the field of alternative proteins (AP). AP include vegetable proteins, algae, insects, and proteins from microbial biomass. Several studies suggest that AP consumption may be positively correlated with human health. However, although the increasing research interest, the number of studies addressing the impact of their long-term consumption on the human gut microbiome is still limited. In this review, we summarize current evidence on the impact of different AP on the gut microbiome, highlighting the need for ad hoc-designed clinical trials to study the mechanisms by which AP may affect human health, also through the modulation of gut microbiome activities.