Systematic Survey of the Alteration of the Faecal Microbiota in Rats With Gastrointestinal Disorder and Modulation by Multicomponent Drugs

Improvement of functional dyspepsia with Suaeda salsa (L.) Pall via regulating brain-gut peptide and gut microbiota structure

PURPOSE

The traditional Chinese herbal medicine Suaeda salsa (L.) Pall (S. salsa) with a digesting food effect was taken as the research object, and its chemical composition and action mechanism were explored.

METHODS

The chemical constituents of S. salsa were isolated and purified by column chromatography, and their structures were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance. The food accumulation model in mice was established, and the changes of the aqueous extract of S. salsa in gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion rate, colonic tissue lesions, serum brain-gut peptide hormone, colonic tissue protein expression, and gut microbiota structure were compared.

RESULTS

Ten compounds were isolated from S. salsa named as naringenin (1), hesperetin (2), baicalein (3), luteolin (4), isorhamnetin (5), taxifolin (6), isorhamnetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside (7), luteolin-3'-D-glucuronide (8), luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucuronide (9), and quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronide (10), respectively. The aqueous extract of S. salsa can improve the pathological changes of the mice colon and intestinal peristalsis by increasing the rate of gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion. By adjusting the levels of 5-HT, CCK, NT, SS, VIP, GT-17, CHE, MTL, and ghrelin, it can upregulate the levels of c-kit, SCF, and GHRL protein, and restore the imbalanced structure of gut microbiota, further achieve the purpose of treating the syndrome of indigestion. The effect is better with the increase of dose.

CONCLUSION

S. salsa has a certain therapeutic effect on mice with the syndrome of indigestion. From the perspective of "brain-gut-gut microbiota", the mechanism of digestion and accumulation of S. salsa was discussed for the first time, which provided an experimental basis for further exploring the material basis of S. salsa.

The regulatory effects of fucoidan and laminarin on functional dyspepsia mice induced by loperamide

Gastrointestinal dysmotility is a common cause of functional dyspepsia. As two kinds of polysaccharides derived from brown algae, fucoidan and laminarin possess many physiological properties; however, their relative abilities in regulating gastrointestinal motility have not been illustrated yet. In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory effect of fucoidan and laminarin on functional dyspepsia mice induced by loperamide. Mice with gastrointestinal dysmotility were treated with fucoidan (100 and 200 mg per kg bw) and laminarin (50 and 100 mg per kg bw). As a result, fucoidan and laminarin reversed the dysfunction mainly through regulating gastrointestinal hormones (motilin and ghrelin), the cholinergic pathway, the total bile acid level, c-kit protein expression, and gastric smooth muscle contraction-related gene expression (ANO1 and RYR3). Moreover, fucoidan and laminarin intervention modulated the gut microbiota profile including the altered richness of Muribaculaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Streptococcus. The results indicated that fucoidan and laminarin may restore the rhythm of the migrating motor complex and regulate gut microecology. In conclusion, we provided evidence to support that fucoidan and laminarin might have potential abilities to regulate gastrointestinal motility.

Carbon dots induce pathological damage to the intestine via causing intestinal flora dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation

BACKGROUND

Carbon dots (CDs), as excellent antibacterial nanomaterials, have gained great attention in treating infection-induced diseases such as periodontitis and stomatitis. Given the eventual exposure of CDs to the intestine, elucidating the effect of CDs on intestinal health is required for the safety evaluation of CDs.

RESULTS

Herein, CDs extracted from ε-poly-L-lysine (PL) were chosen to explore the modulation effect of CDs on probiotic behavior in vitro and intestinal remodeling in vivo. Results verify that PL-CDs negatively regulate Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus) growth via increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and reducing the antioxidant activity, which subsequently destroys membrane permeability and integrity. PL-CDs are also inclined to inhibit cell viability and accelerate cell apoptosis. In vivo, the gavage of PL-CDs is verified to induce inflammatory infiltration and barrier damage in mice. Moreover, PL-CDs are found to increase the Firmicutes to Bacteroidota (F/B) ratio and the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae while decreasing that of Muribaculaceae.

CONCLUSION

Overall, these evidences indicate that PL-CDs may inevitably result in intestinal flora dysbiosis via inhibiting probiotic growth and simultaneously activating intestinal inflammation, thus causing pathological damage to the intestine, which provides an effective and insightful reference for the potential risk of CDs from the perspective of intestinal remodeling.

Biomarkers for isolated congenital heart disease based on maternal amniotic fluid metabolomics analysis

INTRODUCTION

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most prevalent birth defects in the world. The pathogenesis of CHD is complex and unclear. With the development of metabolomics technology, variations in metabolites may provide new clues about the causes of CHD and may serve as a biomarker during pregnancy.

METHODS

Sixty-five amniotic fluid samples (28 cases and 37 controls) during the second and third trimesters were utilized in this study. The metabolomics of CHD and normal fetuses were analyzed by untargeted metabolomics technology. Differential comparison and randomForest were used to screen metabolic biomarkers.

RESULTS

A total of 2472 metabolites were detected, and they were distributed differentially between the cases and controls. Setting the selection criteria of fold change (FC) ≥ 2, P value < 0.01 and variable importance for the projection (VIP) ≥ 1.5, we screened 118 differential metabolites. Within the prediction model by random forest, PE(MonoMe(11,5)/MonoMe(13,5)), N-feruloylserotonin and 2,6-di-tert-butylbenzoquinone showed good prediction effects. Differential metabolites were mainly concentrated in aldosterone synthesis and secretion, drug metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism pathways, which may be related to the occurrence and development of CHD.

CONCLUSION

This study provides a new database of CHD metabolic biomarkers and mechanistic research. These results need to be further verified in larger samples.

Metabolomics Combined with Transcriptomics Analysis Revealed the Amino Acids, Phenolic Acids, and Flavonol Derivatives Biosynthesis Network in Developing Rosa roxburghii Fruit

Rosa roxburghii Tratt. is a specific fruit with high nutritional value and antioxidative activities. However, the key metabolites and their biosynthesis are still unknown. Herein, a main cultivated variety, ‘Guinong 5’ (Rr5), was chosen to analyze the metabolomics of the three developmental stages of R. roxburghii fruit by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). A total of 533 metabolites were identified, of which 339 were significantly altered. Total phenols, flavonoids, and amino acids were significantly correlated to at least one in vitro antioxidant activity. The conjoint Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) co-enrichment analysis of metabolome and transcriptome was focused on amino acid, phenylpropanoid, and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. The amino acid, phenolic acid, and flavonol biosynthesis networks were constructed with 32 structural genes, 48 RrMYBs, and 23 metabolites. Of these, six RrMYBs correlated to 9–15 metabolites in the network were selected to detect the gene expression in six different R. roxburghii genotypes fruits. Subsequently, 21 key metabolites were identified in the in vitro antioxidant activities in the fruits at various developmental stages or in fruits of different R. roxburghii genotypes. We found that four key RrMYBs were related to the significantly varied amino acids, phenolic acids, and flavonol derivatives in the network during fruit development and the key metabolites in the in vitro antioxidative activities in the fruits of six R. roxburghii genotypes. This finding provided novel insights into the flavonoid, polyphenol, and amino acid synthesis in R. roxburghii.