Taxifolin Alleviates DSS-Induced Ulcerative Colitis by Acting on Gut Microbiome to Produce Butyric Acid.

Jianan Zhao,Ying Ren,Le Zhang,Wei Li,Qingbiao Xu,Wenbo Yang,Zhendong Yu,Libao Ma

doi:10.3390/nu14051069

Abstract

Taxifolin is a bioflavonoid which has been used to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease. However, taxifolin on DSS-induced colitis and gut health is still unclear. Here, we studied the effect of taxifolin on DSS-induced intestinal mucositis in mice. We measured the degree of intestinal mucosal injury and inflammatory response in DSS treated mice with or without taxifolin administration and studied the changes of fecal metabolites and intestinal microflora using 16S rRNA. The mechanism was further explored by fecal microbiota transplantation. The results showed that the weight loss and diarrhea score of the mice treated with taxifolin decreased in DSS-induced mice and longer colon length was displayed after taxifolin supplementation. Meanwhile, the expression of GPR41 and GPR43 in the colon was significantly increased by taxifolin treatment. Moreover, the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in colon tissue was inhibited by taxifolin treatment. The fecal metabolism pattern changed significantly after DSS treatment, which was reversed by taxifolin treatment. Importantly, taxifolin significantly increased the levels of butyric acid and isobutyric acid in the feces of DSS-treated mice. In terms of gut flora, taxifolin reversed the changes of Akkermansia, and further decreased uncultured_bacterium_f_Muribaculaceae. Fecal transplantation from taxifolin-treated mice showed a lower diarrhea score, reduced inflammatory response in the colon, and reduced intestinal mucosal damage, which may be related to the increased level of butyric acid in fecal metabolites. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that taxifolin can ameliorate DSS-induced colitis by altering gut microbiota to increase the production of SCFAs.

Highlights

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a kind of gut disorder whose etiology has not been fully elucidated, consisting of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease [1]
The levels of NF-κB P65 were significantly decreased in FT and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT)(Control) compared to DSS group (p < 0.05), the levels of IκBα were significantly increased in FT and FC compared to DSS group (p < 0.05) (Figure 5). These results suggested that the intestinal flora which changed by taxifolin treatment relieved intestinal mucositis induced by DSS
Previous studies have demonstrated that taxifolin relieved DSS-induced colitis by NFPrevious studies have demonstrated that taxifolin relieved DSS-induced coliti κB signal way [26], and Su et al reported that taxifolin, which could improve the obesity

Summary

Introduction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a kind of gut disorder whose etiology has not been fully elucidated, consisting of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease [1]. UC was first described in 1859 and was characterized by mucosal inflammation that begins in the rectum and the proximal to the colon [2–5]. UC has become a chronic disease worldwide [6]. The clinical manifestations of UC are mainly rectal bleeding, diarrhea, tenesmus, and sometimes low abdominal pain [7]. Previous studies have found that the UC recurred in about 15% of patients five years after diagnosis, and in up to about 25% of patients at 10 years [8].

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Results

Conclusion