Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of gut microbiota and antioxidation of Shenling Baizhu San (SLBZS) as a supplement in a rat model of ulcerative colitis (UC) induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS). Acute intestinal inflammation was induced in 40 male SD rats aged 4 weeks with 100 mg/kg TNBS, and then three dosages of SLBZS (0.5 g/kg, 1 g/kg, and 1.5 g/kg) were administered for eight days, respectively. Faecal microbiome composition was assessed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. The result indicated that SLBZS could reduce the diversity of gut microbiota and increased its abundance. At the genus level, the relative abundance of SCFAs producing bacteria including Prevotella and Oscillospira increased, while the relative abundance of opportunistic pathogens including Desulfovibrio and Bilophila decreased. Meanwhile, SLBZS could improve the lesions of colon and significantly reduce the level of MPO, increase the levels of SOD and CAT in rats' serum. These findings revealed that SLBZS was effective and possessed anticolitic activities in a rat model of UC by reducing macroscopical and microscopical colon injury, enhancing antioxidant capacity, and regulating gut microbiota.
Highlights
ulcerative colitis (UC), as a chronic, relapsing, and remitting inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract with high morbidity, brings a lot of pain to patients [1]
All rats were weighed one day ahead of modeling and were fasted except water in 12 h before modeling. e control group (CON) group was treated with normal physiological saline, whereas all other rats were provided 100 mg/kg trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) by transrectal for a single administration to induce acute UC. 2 days after modeling, rats in the CON group and TNBS group were intragastrically administered with physiological saline, and three dosages of Shenling Baizhu San (SLBZS) group were administered by oral gavage with SLBZS for 8 days, 0.5 g/kg SLBZS for rats in TNBS-L group, 1 g/kg SLBZS for rats in TNBS-M group, and 1.5 g/kg SLBZS for rats in TNBS-H group, respectively
After high-throughput sequencing, 1,707,839 effective sequences were obtained, including 307,951 in the CON group, 302,534 in the TNBS group, 383,561 in the TNBS-L group, 377,902 in the TNBS-M group, and 335,891 in the TNBS-H group. e QIIME software performed Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) partitioning on these sequences, which were based on 97% sequence similarity
Summary
UC, as a chronic, relapsing, and remitting inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract with high morbidity, brings a lot of pain to patients [1]. Gut microbiota was considered to be a critical factor in deriving UC [2, 3], which was characterized by abnormal microbiota leading to disruption of flora balance, decreasing the complexity of the intestinal microbial ecosystem [4]. UC was thought to be caused by an imbalance between intestinal microbiota and mucosal immunity [5]. Among UC patients, the composition and functional diversity of intestinal microbiota and the stability of intestinal bacteria were reportedly destroyed [6]. The specific Firmicutes decreased, yet Bacteroidetes and Lactobacillus increased [7]. Looking for supplements with a protective effect on gut microbiota needs to be urgently developed
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