A Two-Week Treatment with Plant Extracts Changes Gut Microbiota, Caecum Metabolome, and Markers of Lipid Metabolism in ob/ob Mice.

Amandine Brochot,Franck Tourniaire,Jean‐François Landrier,Vincent Azalbert,Matteo Serino

doi:10.1002/mnfr.201900403

Abstract

ScopeTargeting gut microbiota dysbiosis by prebiotics is effective, though side effects such as abdominal bloating and flatulence may arise following high prebiotic consumption over weeks. The aim is therefore to optimize the current protocol for prebiotic use.Methods and resultsTo examine the prebiotic properties of plant extracts, two independent studies are conducted in ob/ob mice, over two weeks. In the first study, Porphyra umbilicalis and Melissa officinalis L. extracts are evaluated; in the second study, a high vs low dose of an Emblica officinalis Gaertn extract is assessed. These plant extracts affect gut microbiota, caecum metabolome, and induce a significant lower plasma triacylglycerols (TG) following treatment with P. umbilicalis and significantly higher plasma free fatty acids (FFA) following treatment with the low‐dose of E. officinalis Gaertn. Glucose‐ and insulin‐tolerance are not affected but white adipose tissue and liver gene expression are modified. In the first study, IL‐6 hepatic gene expression is significantly (adjusted p = 0.0015) and positively (r = 0.80) correlated with the bacterial order Clostridiales in all mice.ConclusionThe data show that a two‐week treatment with plant extracts affects the dysbiotic gut microbiota and changes both caecum metabolome and markers of lipid metabolism in ob/ob mice.

Highlights

The gut microbiota is recognized as a major actor in host pathophysiology, with functions extending beyond those related to digestion.[1]
One of these strategies is the use of prebiotics, originally defined as to “non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria already resident in the colon.”[5]. In several experimental models of dysbiotic gut microbiota, including those of obesity induced by a fat-rich diet, prebiotics dampened the effects of the diet and intestinal inflammation by acting on the gut microbiota.[6]
Treatment with Porphyra umbilicalis (Pum) induced a significant increase in bacteria belonging to the phylum Gammaproteobacteria and to the families Enterobacteriaceae and Porphyromonadaceae as well as the genus Barnesiella; by contrast, the Pum treatment appeared to reduce the abundance of the bacterial order Coriobacteriales and its component taxon Olsenella and the bacterial family Ruminococcaceae (Figure 1A); in terms of overall microbial diversity, treatment with Pum decreased the Chao-1 diversity index, which indicates the diversity related to rare species (Figure 1B)

Summary

Introduction

The gut microbiota is recognized as a major actor in host pathophysiology, with functions extending beyond those related to digestion.[1] Both taxonomic (relative (%) abundance of bacterial groups) and functional (microbial metabolic pathways) alterations of gut microbiota, named dysbioses, have been associated with several pathologies, in particular metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.[2,3,4] multiple strategies targeting gut microbiota dysbiosis may be effective in restoring physiological conditions. Azalbert Unite Mixte de Recherche (UMR) 1048 Institut de Maladies Metaboliques et Cardiovasculaires (I2MC) Universite Paul Sabatier (UPS) Toulouse 31432, France

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Conclusion