Effects of wheat germ polysaccharides prepared by ultra-high pressure on functional constipation and gut microbiota

Abstract

With the quickening of life rhythms and changes in eating habits, the incidence rate of constipation is gradually rising and attracting more attention. In this study, wheat germ, a by-product of wheat, was used as raw material to prepare wheat germ polysaccharides (WGPs) by an ultra-high pressure extraction method, which improved the yield of WGPs. We studied the alleviating effect of WGPs and its mechanism in constipated mice induced by diphenoxylate. Results demonstrated that WGPs could effectively regulate defecation function, enhance intestinal transit ratio, and protect the small intestinal villi and colonic mucosa dose-dependently. Furthermore, WGPs played a crucial role in regulating the levels of serum gastrointestinal regulatory-related peptides and raising the content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in constipated mice. Principal co-ordinates analysis (PCoA) revealed that WGPs could regulate the gut microbiota composition of constipated mice to be closer to that of healthy mice. According to spearman's correlation analysis, there is a significant association between constipation and some gut microbiota. This study provided a valuable theoretical support for the alleviating effect of WGPs on constipation and suggested a new way for the high value-added utilization of wheat.