Effect of an Antibacterial Polysaccharide Produced by Chaetomium globosum CGMCC 6882 on the Gut Microbiota of Mice

Protection of Inonotus hispidus (Bull.) P. Karst. against Chronic Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury in Mice via Its Relieving Inflammation Response

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) can be induced by excessive alcohol consumption, and has a worldwide age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of approximately 5.243%. Inonotus hispidus (Bull.) P. Karst. (IH) is a mushroom with pharmacological effects. In ALD mice, the hepatoprotective effects of IH were investigated. IH strongly ameliorated alcohol-induced pathological changes in the liver, including liver structures and its function-related indices. Intestinal microbiota and serum metabolomics analysis showed that IH altered the associated anti-inflammatory microbiota and metabolites. According to results obtained from Western blot, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), IH downregulated the levels of pro-inflammation factors interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), enhanced the expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and 15-hydroxprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH), and inhibited the phosphorylated activation of Janus kinase (JAK) 1 and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3, confirming the hepatoprotection of IH against alcohol damage via anti-inflammation. This study provides the experimental evidence for the hepatoprotective effects of IH in chronic ALD.

Research on the Properties of Polysaccharides, Starch, Protein, Pectin, and Fibre in Food Processing

As food components, polysaccharides, starch, protein, pectin, and fibre are often used in the food industry due to their particular functional properties, as well as their efficient, safe, and green characteristics [...].

Effect of Polysaccharide Extracted From Gynostemma Pentaphyllum on the Body Weight and Gut Microbiota of Mice

Researchers have investigated the role of polysaccharides in disease treatment via gut microbiota regulation but ignore their function in disease prevention and physique enhancement. In this work, a Gynostemma pentaphyllum polysaccharide (GPP) was tested by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay and proved to be safe to Caco-2 cells. Animal experiments showed that the administration of GPP for 3 weeks decreased the body weight gain of mice from 15.4 ± 1.7 to 12.2 ± 1.8 g in a concentration-dependent manner. Analysis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) indicated that GPP increased the levels of acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total SCFAs in the cecum contents of normal mice. Furthermore, GPP improved the species richness and abundance in the gut microbiota but reduced the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio from 0.8021 to 0.3873. This work provides a basis for incorporating GPP into diet to prevent or mitigate the occurrence of obesity via gut microbiota regulation.

The Gut Mycobiome Characterization of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Its Association With Dietary Intervention

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a high-risk pregnancy complication that is associated with metabolic disorder phenotypes, such as abnormal blood glucose and obesity. The active interface between gut microbiota and diet contributes to metabolic homeostasis in GDM. However, the contributions of gut mycobiome have been neglected. Here, we profiled the gut fungi between GDM and healthy subjects at two time points and investigate whether variations in gut mycobiome correlate with key features of host metabolism and diet management in this observational study. We identified that Hanseniaspora, Torulaspora, Auricularia, Alternaria, and Candida contributed to GDM patient clustering, indicating that these fungal taxa are associated with abnormal blood glucose levels, and the causality needs to be further explored. While Penicillium, Ganoderma, Fusarium, Chaetomium, and Heterobasidion had significant explanatory effects on healthy subject clustering. In addition, spearman analysis further indicated that blood glucose levels were negatively correlated with polysaccharide-producing genera, Ganoderma, which could be reshaped by the short-term diet. The Penicillium which was negatively correlates with metabolic parameters, also exhibited the antimicrobial attribute by the fungal-bacterial interaction analysis. These data suggest that host metabolic homeostasis in GDM may be influenced by variability in the mycobiome and could be reshaped by the diet intervention. This work reveals the potential significance of the gut mycobiome in health and has implications for the beneficial effects of diet intervention on host metabolic homeostasis through regulating gut fungal abundance and metabolites.

Effect of molecular weight on the antibacterial activity of polysaccharides produced by Chaetomium globosum CGMCC 6882

This study investigated the effect of molecular weight on antibacterial activity of polysaccharides. Results showed that low molecular weight (3.105 × 10⁴ Da) polysaccharide (GCP-2) had higher inhibitory effects against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus than high molecular weight (5.340 × 10⁴ Da) polysaccharide (GCP-1). Meanwhile, antibacterial activities of GCP-2 and GCP-1 against S. aureus were higher than those of E. coli. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of GCP-1 against E. coli and S. aureus were 2.0 mg/mL and 1.2 mg/mL, and MICs of GCP-2 against E. coli and S. aureus were 1.75 mg/mL and 0.85 mg/mL, respectively. Antibacterial mechanisms investigation revealed that GCP-2 and GCP-1 influenced cell membrane integrity, Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-ATPase activity on cell membrane and calcium ions in cytoplasm of E. coli and S. aureus, but not cell wall. Present work provided important implications for future studies on development of antibacterial polysaccharides based on molecular weight feature.