Beneficial effects of the multi-strain probiotic preparation bacimix on antibiotic-associated diarrhea in rats

Abstract

Dysbiosis is a common status of intestinal microbiota in modern society and is associated with many diseases. Diarrhea is a kind of dysbiosis and is frequently caused by imbalanced gut microbiota due to misuse of antibiotics. A lot of evidence has shown that probiotics can exhibit potential to alleviate the effects of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). In this study, Lincomycin was utilized to induce AAD in rats and then the effects of the multi-strain probiotic preparation BaciMix on this model were evaluated. The rat groups, including healthy control rats, AAD-induced rats, AAD rats with no treatment (self-healing rats), and AAD rats treated by BaciMix preparation, were analyzed regarding general health status, some immune indices, and intestinal microbiota changes. The results disclosed that the BaciMix preparation remarkably reduced the effects of the antibiotic regarding the diarrhea score and cecum thickness in the rats treated by BaciMix preparation. Additionally, the BaciMix preparation reduced pre-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, and IL-6, while increasing the IgA in sera and intestinal mucosae. Moreover, the BaciMix preparation amended the compositions and differential abundance of intestinal bacteria of the rats to increase some beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Hungatella, and Romboutsia, and to decrease some potentially harmful genera such as Bacteroides, Escherichia-Shigella, and Proteus. Generally, BaciMix preparation displayed helpful effects on the AAD rat model.