Funded in part by Australian Egg Corporation Limited, Australian Eggs, PhD scholarship partly funded by Australian Eggs Ltd
The Impact of Egg Consumption on Gastrointestinal Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis
Sultan N, Tuck CJ, Cheng E, Kellow NJ, Biesiekierski JR
Nutrients · 3 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Meta-analysis (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
- Intake measured by
- Not stated
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Industry funded
- Industry group
- Australian Egg Corporation Limited
- University or hospital
- Monash University
- Industry group
- Australian Eggs
- Government
- Medical Research Council
- Government
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- Government
- National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leadership Fellowship
- Industry group
- PhD scholarship partly funded by Australian Eggs Ltd
- Authors
- At least one author declares a financial tie to industry
- Grants
- National Health and Medical Research Council (2025943); Australian Eggs (GROW005); National Health and Medical Research Council (GROW005); Australian Egg Corporation Limited (GROW005); Australian Egg Corporation Limited (APP2025943)
Based on 7 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2025-06-20 · Nutrients · vol. 17 · issue 13 · p. 2059
- Publisher
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
- Cited
- 3 citations · more than 67% of similar papers · 0.9× the field average
- References
- 87 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Nutritional Studies and Diet · Gut microbiota and health · Food composition and properties
- Keywords
- Meta-analysis, Gastrointestinal tract, Medicine, Systematic review, Microbiome, Randomized controlled trial, Internal medicine, Choline, Trimethylamine N-oxide, Gastroenterology, Physiology, MEDLINE, Biology, Bioinformatics, Trimethylamine, Biochemistry
- MeSH
- gastrointestinal tract, humans, choline, methylamines, c-reactive protein, diet, eggs, adult, female, male, biomarkers, gastrointestinal microbiome
5 authors
From AU
- Nessmah SultanMonash University
- Caroline J. TuckSwinburne University of Technology
- T.C.E. ChengMonash University
- Nicole J. Kellow · correspondingMonash University
- Jessica R. Biesiekierski · correspondingThe University of Melbourne; Monash University
Abstract
Objective
Eggs are a valuable source of nutrients and bioactive compounds that may influence the gastrointestinal tract by modulating the microbiome, promoting the production of gastrointestinal-related metabolites, and mediating inflammation. Limited human studies have explored the effects of whole egg intake on indices of gastrointestinal health. This systematic literature review aimed to synthesise research investigating the impact of whole egg consumption on markers of gastrointestinal health.
Methods
Five databases were searched from inception until July 2024. Studies were included if they examined the link between whole egg consumption and gastrointestinal markers, including symptoms, gut microbiome composition, inflammation, colonic fermentation, and egg-derived metabolites such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in healthy adults. Two reviewers independently conducted title and abstract and full-text screening, with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer. Similarly, two authors conducted data extraction, which was verified by a third. A risk of bias assessment was conducted using validated tools. Random effects meta-analyses were performed to summarise the effect of egg consumption on TMAO, choline, and C-reactive protein (CRP).
Results
Twenty-two studies were included in a narrative synthesis and ten in the meta-analyses. Nine were randomised controlled trials (RCTs), three were non-randomised intervention trials, eight were cross-sectional, and two were prospective cohort studies. Meta-analyses indicated that egg consumption did not impact plasma TMAO (n = 6, p = 0.22) or CRP (n = 3, p = 0.45) concentrations but did increase plasma choline (n = 5, p < 0.001) in the short term (≤4 weeks). Four studies found correlations between habitual egg consumption and specific gut bacteria, although results varied as egg consumption was both positively and negatively associated with butyrate-producing genera.
Conclusions
This review found conflicting results regarding egg consumption and most gastrointestinal outcomes, highlighting that future studies are needed to explore links between habitual egg intake and plasma TMAO, microbial diversity, and inflammation (PROSPERO registration: 408532).
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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