Improvement in intestinal function of hamsters as influenced by consumption of polysaccharide-rich sage weed extracts

Polysaccharides from Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (jackfruit) pulp improves intestinal barrier functions of high fat diet-induced obese rats

Polysaccharides show protective effects on intestinal barrier function due to their effectiveness in mitigating oxidative damage, inflammation and probiotic effects. Little has been known about the effects of polysaccharides from Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. pulp (jackfruit, JFP-Ps) on intestinal barrier function. This study aimed to investigate the effects of JFP-Ps on intestinal barrier function in high fat diet-induced obese rats. H&E staining and biochemical analysis were performed to measure the pathological and inflammatory state of the intestine as well as oxidative damage. Expression of the genes and proteins associated with intestinal health and inflammation were analyzed by RT-qPCR and western blots. Results showed that JFP-Ps promoted bowel movements and modified intestinal physiochemical environment by lowering fecal pH and increasing fecal water content. JFP-Ps also alleviated oxidative damage of the colon, relieved intestinal colonic inflammation, and regulated blood glucose transport in the small intestine. In addition, JFP-Ps modified intestinal physiological status through repairing intestinal mucosal damage and increasing the thickness of the mucus layer. Furthermore, JFP-Ps downregulated the inflammatory genes (TNF-α, IL-6) and up-regulated the free fatty acid receptors (GPR41 and GPR43) and tight junction protein (occludin). These results revealed that JFP-Ps showed a protective effect on intestinal function through enhancing the biological, mucosal, immune and mechanical barrier functions of the intestine, and activating SCFAs-GPR41/GPR43 related signaling pathways. JFP-Ps may be used as a promising phytochemical to improve human intestinal health.

Effect of banana pulp dietary fibers on metabolic syndrome and gut microbiota diversity in high-fat diet mice

Banana (Musa nana Lour.) have the effect of anti-obesity and lipid modulating properties. However, the influences of banana pulp dietary fibers (BP-DF) on metabolic syndrome (MetS) and gut microbiota (GM) are unknown. In this research, we explore a novel strategy for dietary BP-DF on attenuation of lipid metabolic disease, GM disorder, and associated mechanisms in high-fat diet (HFD) mice. BP-DF can strongly suppress on HFD caused body weight and epididymal fat mass gain, and significantly improved serum lipid profiles, liver lipid profiles, and intestinal function. BP-DF also significantly improved fecal short-chain fatty acids formation and fecal ammonia content. BP-DF impacted the intestinal microorganism at all kinds of taxonomic levels by increasing the proportions of beneficial Lactobacillus, Bacteroidales _S24_7_group, and Alloprevotella and decreasing the disease or obesity associated Sutterella, Streptococcaceae, and Erysipelotrichaceae. The experiments show that BP-DF may use as a functional ingredient for preventing obesity, MetS, and intestinal microorganism imbalance. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Obesity result in many metabolic complications, and it poses a great threat to people's health. Nowadays, the introduction of DF may lead to the development of a new strategy in the treatment of obesity and its metabolic syndrome. Our experiments findings show that BP-DF may use as a functional ingredient for preventing obesity, MetS, and intestinal microorganism imbalance. Therefore, BP-DF can be applied to the development and production of functional food, and can also be used as an important food functional ingredient, which can be added to various food, such as bread, noodles, baked goods, cakes, etc., to improve its nutritional value.

Study on Dendrobium officinale O-Acetyl-glucomannan (Dendronan). 7. Improving Effects on Colonic Health of Mice

This research was aimed to study the effect of Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide (Dendronan) on colonic health. Mice were fed Dendronan at doses of 40, 80, and 160 mg/kg body weight for 0, 10, 20, and 30 days, respectively. Results showed that Dendronan, which has a special structure formed by mannose and glucose, rich in O-acetyl groups, exhibited improving effects on colonic and fecal parameters of Balb/c mice. After Dendronan feeding, the content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), colon length and index, and fecal moisture were increased, whereas colonic pH was decreased and defecation time was shortened. All of these changes were significantly different between polysaccharide-treated groups and the control group (p < 0.05). These findings suggested that an adequate intake of Dendronan is beneficial to the process of fermentation and regulation of colonic microenvironment, thus playing a role in the maintenance of colonic health.

Looking Beyond the Terrestrial: The Potential of Seaweed Derived Bioactives to Treat Non-Communicable Diseases

Seaweeds are a large and diverse group of marine organisms that are commonly found in the maritime regions of the world. They are an excellent source of biologically active secondary metabolites and have been shown to exhibit a wide range of therapeutic properties, including anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic activities. Several Asian cultures have a strong tradition of using different varieties of seaweed extensively in cooking as well as in herbal medicines preparations. As such, seaweeds have been used to treat a wide variety of health conditions such as cancer, digestive problems, and renal disorders. Today, increasing numbers of people are adopting a "westernised lifestyle" characterised by low levels of physical exercise and excessive calorific and saturated fat intake. This has led to an increase in numbers of chronic Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes mellitus, being reported. Recently, NCDs have replaced communicable infectious diseases as the number one cause of human mortality. Current medical treatments for NCDs rely mainly on drugs that have been obtained from the terrestrial regions of the world, with the oceans and seas remaining largely an untapped reservoir for exploration. This review focuses on the potential of using seaweed derived bioactives including polysaccharides, antioxidants and fatty acids, amongst others, to treat chronic NCDs such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus.

Effects of Sargassum fusiforme polysaccharides on antioxidant activities and intestinal functions in mice

Sargassum fusiforme is a kind of brown algae that has been widely consumed not only as food, but also as herbal medicine for thousands of years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antioxidant activities and intestinal functions of polysaccharides extracted from S. fusiforme (SFP) in normal and cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice. The experiment was performed on six groups of ICR mice, which treated with cyclophosphamide (CY, 200 mg/kg) or different dosages of SFP for 14 days. The results showed that administration of SFP was able to overcome the immunosuppression, and significantly increased the spleen index and antioxidant activities in mice (P<0.05). It also remarkably improved the numbers of jejunal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) and goblet cells in immunosuppressed mice (P<0.05). For normal mice, SFP increased both thymus index and intestinal function parameters such as villus length/crypt depth ratio and intestinal IELs and goblet cells (P<0.05). The results suggested that SFP, possessing pronounced antioxidant activities, may play an important role in the improvement of intestinal function in mice. This might be one of the possible mechanisms of SFP for the immunomodulatory effects.

Intestinal health benefits of the water-soluble carbohydrate concentrate of wild grape ( Vitis thunbergii ) in hamsters

The dose-response relationship of the water-soluble carbohydrate concentrate (WSCC) from wild grape ( Vitis thunbergii Sieb. & Zucc.) on intestinal health was investigated in this study. WSCC contained carbohydrates up to 71.9 g/100 g, including arabinose-rich pectic polysaccharide, hemicelluloses, glucose, and fructose. The consumption of WSCC (0.5 and 1.5 g/100 g of diet) effectively (P < 0.05) shortened gastrointestinal transit time (-62.3 to -63.0%), decreased toxic cecal ammonia (-59.3 to -63.0%) and daily fecal ammonia output (-29.7 to -41.4%), decreased the activities of fecal β-glucuronidase (-78.6%), β-glucosidase (-80.5 to -87.5%), mucinase (-64.6 to -72.7%), and urease (-83.2 to -86.0%), increased fecal moisture content (116-129%), and also increased short-chain fatty acid levels in cecal contents (1.8-3.3-fold). These findings suggested that consumption of wild grape WSCC might diminish the exposure of intestinal mucosa to toxic ammonia and other detrimental compounds and, hence exert, favorable effects on improving gastrointestinal milieu.