Abstract
Herbal preparations are complex mixtures of natural products, many of which are able to reach the distal gut due to low oral bioavailability. There, they can influence the microbial communities, and can be metabolized into potentially absorbable bioactive compounds by the intestinal bacteria. This aspect has often been disregarded when searching for the active principles of medicinal plants and herbal medicinal products. The aim of this study was to establish an interdisciplinary platform to unravel interactions of herbal medicine and intestinal microbiota, using a combined LC-MS metabolomics and 16S rRNA microbiome sequencing approach. Willow bark extract (WBE), a herbal medicinal product with a long history of traditional use and a well-established anti-inflammatory activity, was incubated with human fecal suspension under anoxic conditions. Samples were taken after 0.5, 4, and 24 h of incubation. Microbiome analyses revealed that incubation with WBE had a marked effect on microbial community composition and functions. For example, the proportion of Bacteroides sp. was clearly enhanced when the fecal sample used in this study was incubated with WBE. LC-MS analysis showed that WBE constituents were readily metabolized by fecal bacteria. Numerous microbial metabolites could be annotated, allowing the construction of putative microbial degradation pathways for the main groups of WBE constituents. We suggest that studies of this type help to increase the knowledge on bioactive principles of medicinal plants, since gut microbial metabolites might have been underestimated as a source of bioactive compounds in the past.
Highlights
The human body hosts at least as many microbial as human cells (Sender et al, 2016)
Microbial metabolites are in the spotlight of medicinal plant research, since they might be of importance to explain the pharmacological activity of some of these traditional herbal preparations (Possemiers et al, 2011; Mena et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2016)
In order to assess the potential impact of willow bark extract (WBE) on fecal microbiota, we analyzed the microbial composition of human fecal suspension (HFS) incubated with WBE at concentrations of 0 mg/ ml (PBS and vehicle control), 2 mg/ ml and 10 mg/ ml, at 0.5, 4, and 24 h
Summary
Microorganisms reside on our skin, in mouth, nose, ears, intestinal tract and genitals. Many of these microbial species are essential for our survival, health and wellbeing. Many compounds, in particular natural products ingested via diet or herbal medicines, reach the colon due to their low oral bioavailability and are readily metabolized by gut microbiota. In many cases, they are decomposed to metabolites with lower molecular weight and polarity, and better bioavailability. Microbial metabolites are in the spotlight of medicinal plant research, since they might be of importance to explain the pharmacological activity of some of these traditional herbal preparations (Possemiers et al, 2011; Mena et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2016)
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