Modified Mediterranean Diet for Enrichment of Short Chain Fatty Acids: Potential Adjunctive Therapeutic to Target Immune and Metabolic Dysfunction in Schizophrenia?

Microbial community and short-chain fatty acid profile in gastrointestinal tract of goose

Goose is an economically important herbivore waterfowl supplying nutritious meat and eggs, high-quality liver fat, and feathers. However, biogeograhpy of the gut microbiome of goose remains limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiota inhabiting 7 different gastrointestinal locations (proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and rectum) of 180-day-old geese and the short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) of their metabolites based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and gas chromatography, respectively. Consequently, 3,886,340 sequences were identified into 29 phyla and 359 genera. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the major phyla, in which Bacteroidetes (28%) and Fusobacteria (0.8%) in the cecum were significantly higher than those in other sections (∼4.4 and 0.1%, respectively). In addition, Cyanobacteria in the gizzard (4.9%) was significantly higher than those in other gut sections except the proventriculus (2.4%). At the genus level, Bacteroides was the most dominant group in the cecum at 23.7%, which was much more than those in the 6 other sections (less than 4.6%). Moreover, Faecalibacterium and Butyricicoccus were significantly high in the cecum (P < 0.05). Results of SCFA showed that acetic and butyric acids in the cecum were significantly higher than those in the 6 other sections (P < 0.05); this result was consistent with the high abundance of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Prevotella, and Butyricicoccus in the cecum. Additionally, isobutyric, isovaleric, and valeric acids were found only in the cecum. The different microbial compositions among the 7 gastrointestinal locations might be a cause and consequence of gut functional differences. All these results could offer some information for future study of the relationship between gastrointestinal microbiota and the ability of fiber utilization and adaptability.

Gut microbiota influences Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis by regulating acetate in Drosophila model

AIM

The aim of present study is to investigate the relationship between gut microbiota and Alzheimer's disease (AD) using Drosophila model.

MATERIALS & METHODS

The microbiota was characterized by Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer was performed to measure the level of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), metabolites of the commensal microbiota.

RESULTS

The diversity of the gut microbiota increased in AD Drosophila. As the most enriched bacteria at genus level, the proportions of Acetobacter and Lactobacillus decreased dramatically. Acetate was the most abundant SCFA derived from the dysregulated microbiota and markedly downregulated in AD Drosophila.

CONCLUSION

Our study on Drosophila model suggests that dysregulation of gut microbiota may participate in AD pathogenesis by influencing SCFA level.

Holistic Management of Schizophrenia Symptoms Using Pharmacological and Non-pharmacological Treatment

Individuals with schizophrenia lead a poor quality of life, due to poor medical attention, homelessness, unemployment, financial constraints, lack of education, and poor social skills. Thus, a review of factors associated with the holistic management of schizophrenia is of paramount importance. The objective of this review is to improve the quality of life of individuals with schizophrenia, by addressing the factors related to the needs of the patients and present them in a unified manner. Although medications play a role, other factors that lead to a successful holistic management of schizophrenia include addressing the following: financial management, independent community living, independent living skill, relationship, friendship, entertainment, regular exercise for weight gained due to medication administration, co-morbid health issues, and day-care programmes for independent living. This review discusses the relationship between different symptoms and problems individuals with schizophrenia face (e.g., homelessness and unemployment), and how these can be managed using pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods. Thus, the target of this review is the carers of individuals with schizophrenia, public health managers, counselors, case workers, psychiatrists, and clinical psychologists aiming to enhance the quality of life of individuals with schizophrenia.

An overview on the interplay between nutraceuticals and gut microbiota

Background

Nowadays, growing attention was being given to the alternative ways to prevent or treat diseases. Nutraceuticals are used increasingly for this purpose. Many of these are being used as alternative therapy. Classic therapy with synthetic drugs, although very effective, has many side effects. The term “nutraceuticals” refers to the link between the nutritional and pharmaceutical domains. Also, lately, many studies have been done to investigate the role of microbiota in maintaining health. There is the hypothesis that some of the health benefits of nutraceuticals are due to their ability to change the microbiota. The aim of this review was to emphasize the link between the most commonly used nutraceuticals, the microbiota and the health benefits.

Methods

We selected the articles in PubMed, published up to July 2017, that provided information about most used nutraceuticals, microbiota and health benefits. In this review, we incorporate evidence from various types of studies, including observational, in vitro and in vivo, clinical studies or animal experiments.

Results

The results demonstrate that many nutraceuticals change the composition of microbiota and can interfere with health status of the patients.

Discussion

There is evidence which sustains the importance of nutraceuticals in people’s health through microbiota but further studies are needed to complete the assessment of nutraceuticals in health benefit as a consequence of microbiota’s changing.