Patchouli Essential Oil and Its Derived Compounds Revealed Prebiotic-Like Effects in C57BL/6J Mice.

Waikit Leong,Yucui Li,Xiaoang Li,Ziren Su,W L Wendy Hsiao,Ruixuan Han,Guoxin Huang,Imran Khan,Yuhong Liu,Wenrui Xia

doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.01229

Abstract

Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth (PC) is a Chinese medicinal plant traditionally used for the treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms. To investigate the prebiotic effect of patchouli essential oil (PEO) and its derived compounds through the modulation of gut microbiota (GM). C57BL/6J mice were treated with the PEO and three active components of PEO, i.e. patchouli alcohol (PA), pogostone (PO) and β-patchoulene (β-PAE) for 15 consecutive days. Fecal samples and mucosa were collected for GM biomarkers studies. PEO, PA, PO, and β-PAE improve the gut epithelial barrier by altering the status of E-cadherin vs. N-cadherin expressions, and increasing the mucosal p-lysozyme and Muc 2. Moreover, the treatments also facilitate the polarization of M1 to M2 macrophage phenotypes, meanwhile, suppress the pro-inflammatory cytokines. Fecal microbial DNAs were analyzed and evaluated for GM composition by ERIC-PCR and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The GM diversity was increased with the treated groups compared to the control. Further analysis showed that some known short chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producing bacteria, e.g. Anaerostipes butyraticus, Butytivibrio fibrisolvens, Clostridium jejuense, Eubacterium uniforme, and Lactobacillus lactis were significantly enriched in the treated groups. In addition, the key SCFAs receptors, GPR 41, 43 and 109a, were significantly stimulated in the gut epithelial layer of the treated mice. By contract, the relative abundance of pathogens Sutterlla spp., Fusobacterium mortiferum, and Helicobacter spp. were distinctly reduced by the treatments with PEO and β-PAE. Our findings provide insightful information that the microbiota/host dynamic interaction may play a key role for the pharmacological activities of PEO, PA, PO, and β-PAE.

Highlights

Recent studies have revealed the critical role of gut microbiota (GM) in human health through a dynamic interaction between the host and the gut microbiota (Maslowski and Mackay, 2011; Marchesi et al, 2016)
A total of 25 male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into five groups and gavage with non-toxic doses of Patchouli essential oil (PEO) (40 mg/kg), and three pure compounds, Patchouli alcohol (PA) (20 mg/kg), PO (20 mg/kg), β-PAE (20 mg/kg), and vehicle 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to control group for 15 consecutive days, and pentobarbital sodium was used for euthanasia of the mice
Treatments with PEO, PA, PO, and β-PAE showed no significant differences in body weight, food and water consumptions between the treated and untreated groups (Figure 2B)

Summary

Introduction

Recent studies have revealed the critical role of gut microbiota (GM) in human health through a dynamic interaction between the host and the gut microbiota (Maslowski and Mackay, 2011; Marchesi et al, 2016). A group of dietary prebiotics, representing non-digestible fibers, polyphenols, and polysaccharides has raised great interest, as they exert beneficial effects by enhancing beneficial bacteria in the gut. These bacteria convert the undigested food into functional metabolites(den Besten et al, 2013; Rowland et al, 2018). Animal and epidemiological studies reveal that SCFAs derived from the prebiotic uptake reduce the symptoms of various difficult diseases, such as autism, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, as well as cancer (Li et al, 2017; Pascal et al, 2017; Rea et al, 2018; Shen et al, 2018)

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