The Prebiotic Activity of Simulated Gastric and Intestinal Digesta of Polysaccharides from the Hericium erinaceus

The role of intestinal flora in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and treatment strategies

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a common multi-factorial liver disease, and its incidence is gradually increasing worldwide. Many reports have revealed that intestinal flora plays a crucial role for the occurrence and development of MASLD, through mechanisms such as flora translocation, endogenous ethanol production, dysregulation of choline metabolism and bile acid, and endotoxemia. Here, we review the relationship between intestinal flora and MASLD, as well as interventions for MASLD, such as prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, and intestinal flora transplantation. Intervention strategies targeting the intestinal flora along with its metabolites may be new targets for preventing and treating MASLD.

Agglutination of Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and Salmonella enterica through competitive exclusion using potassium chloride with gum arabic

Bacterial infections causing necrotic enteritis and diarrhea pose a considerable economic loss to the animal industry. Using mannose oligosaccharides as competitive exclusion agents is an alternative method to antibiotic growth promoters; however, these materials are rapidly metabolized by gut microbiota, posing a challenge in sustaining their efficacy. The aim of this study was to identify an agglutination material that is effective against pathogens. Polysaccharides and salts were assessed using agglutination assays, microscopy, and zeta potential analysis. Gum arabic (GA) demonstrated strong agglutination against Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. Potassium chloride altered the cell form of Clostridium perfringens from rod-like to coccoid. When combined with GA, KCl effectively agglutinated all three bacterial species tested. Zeta potential analysis showed that agglutination resulted from bacteria, GA, and KCl interactions. Among various salts mixed with GA, KCl was found to strongly agglutinate C. perfringens upon its change into the coccoid form. Moreover, this combination has been shown to agglutinate mixtures of pathogens, such as C. perfringens and S. enterica. Thus, a combination of GA and KCl offers a potential solution to combat the pathogens associated with necrotic enteritis and diarrhea in animals.

Interactions between soluble dietary fibers from three edible fungi and gut microbiota

Edible fungi are emerging as a valuable dietary fiber source with health benefits, where their bioactivity hinges on their structure. This study targets the structure-activity relationship of soluble dietary fibers from Lentinus edodes (LESDF), Agaricus bisporus (ABSDF), and Hericium erinaceus (HESDF), focusing on their impact on gut microbiota and health. We explored the properties and structures of edible fungi, finding their soluble fibers affect metabolites and gut microbiota by increasing gas and lowering pH. Among these, HESDF demonstrated superior effects (pH: △1.4 ± 0.07; Gas production: △24.5 ± 0.4 mL). Furthermore, different types of edible fungi dietary fiber exhibited distinct capabilities in promoting the production of short-chain fatty acids by gut microorganisms. For instance, ABSDF exceled in acetic acid production (26.12 ± 0.35 mM) and propionic acid production (9.50 ± 0.13 mM), while HESDF stood out in butyric acid production (17.86 ± 0.09 mM). LESDF showed higher levels of Phascolarctobacterium, ABSDF had elevated levels of Ruminococcus, and HESDF displayed increased levels of Faecalibacterium. These results contribute to our understanding of how soluble dietary fiber from different edible fungi impacts gut microbiota and offers insights for the development and utilization of these fibers as functional food.

Edible mushrooms trending in food: Nutrigenomics, bibliometric, from bench to valuable applications

The worldwide consumption, health-promoting and nutritional properties of mushrooms have been extensively researched over a decade. Although, wide range of edible mushrooms is still unexplored, which can be a valuable source of bioactive compounds in dietary supplements and biopharma industry. Mushrooms represent as dynamic source of nutrients lacking in food from plant or animal origin thus, considered as vital functional food utilized for prevention of numerous diseases. The unique bioactive compounds in mushroom and their anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour and other health attributes have been discussed. The preventive action of mushroom on maintaining the gut health and their property to act as pro, pre or symbiotic is also elucidated. The direct prebiotic activity of mushroom affects gut haemostasis and enhances the gut microbiota. Recent reports on role in improving the brain health and neurological impact by mushroom are mentioned. The role of bioactive components in mushroom with relation to nutrigenomics have been explored. The nutrigenomics has become a crucial tool to assess individuals' diet according its genetic make-up and thus, cure of several diseases. Undeniably, mushroom in present time is regarded as next-generation wonder food, playing crucial role in sustaining health, thus, an active ingredient of food and nutraceutical industries.

Enhancing Oral 5-ASA Effectiveness in Mild-to-Moderate Ulcerative Colitis through an H. erinaceus-Based Nutraceutical Add-on Multi-Compound: The "HERICIUM-UC" Two-Arm Multicentre Retrospective Study

Mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC) management is centred on 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) derivatives. Whether supplementing 5-ASA with nutraceuticals can provide real advantages in UC-relevant outcomes is unclear. This retrospective multicentre study compared clinical remission, response rates, and faecal calprotectin levels in a two-arm design, including patients treated with 5-ASA alone and those with additional H. erinaceus-based multi-compound supplementation. In the 5-ASA alone group, clinical response rates were 41% at three months (T1) and 60.2% at six months (T2), while corresponding clinical remission rates were 16.9% and 36.1%. In the nutraceutical supplementation group, clinical response rates were 49.6% (T1) and 70.4% (T2), with clinical remission rates of 30.4% (T1) and 50.9% (T2). No significant differences in clinical response rates between the groups at T1 (p = 0.231) and T2 (p = 0.143) emerged. Clinical remission rates differed significantly at both time points (p = 0.029 and p = 0.042, respectively). Faecal calprotectin levels decreased significantly in both groups during the retrospective follow-up (p < 0.05), and this was more pronounced in nutraceutical supplementation patients at both T1 (p = 0.005) and T2 (p = 0.01). No adverse events were reported. This multi-component nutraceutical supplementation offers real-world potential in controlling disease activity in patients with mild-to-moderate UC.

Mushroom as Prebiotics: a Sustainable Approach for Healthcare

Mushrooms are considered as sustainable foods as they require less effort and can be cultivated on different agro-industrial wastes. Besides, these possess many nutraceuticals for providing health benefits along with supplementing nutrition. The mushrooms are also used as prebiotics for their ability to support beneficial microbes in the gut and inhibit the growth of pathogens. Furthermore, these remain undigested in the upper gut and reach the intestine to replenish the gut microbiota. The mushrooms boost health by inhibiting the binding of pathogenic bacteria, by promoting the growth of specific gut microbiota, producing short chain fatty acids, and regulating lipid metabolism and cancer. Research has been initiated in the commercial formulation of various products such as yogurt and symbiotic capsules. This paper sheds light on health-promoting effect, disease controlling, and regulating effect of mushroom prebiotics. This paper also presented a glimpse of commercialization of mushroom prebiotics. In the future, proper standardization of mushroom-based prebiotic formulations will be available to boost human health.

Apricot polysaccharides as new carriers to make curcumin nanoparticles and improve its stability and antibacterial activity

Apricot polysaccharides (APs) as new types of natural carriers for encapsulating and delivering active pharmaceutical ingredients can achieve high-value utilization of apricot pulp and improve the solubility, the stability, and the antibacterial activity of insoluble compounds simultaneously. In this research, the purified APs reacted with bovine serum albumin (BSA) by the Maillard reaction, and with d-α-tocopheryl succinate (TOS) and pheophorbide A (PheoA) by grafting to fabricate two materials for the preparation of curcumin (Cur)-encapsulated AP-BSA nanoparticles (CABNs) and Cur-embedded TOS-AP-PheoA micelles (CTAPMs), respectively. The biological activities of two Cur nano-delivery systems were evaluated. APs consisted of arabinose (22.36%), galactose (7.88%), glucose (34.46%), and galacturonic acid (31.32%) after the optimized extraction. Transmission electron microscopy characterization of CABNs and CTAPMs displayed a discrete and non-aggregated morphology with a spherical shape. Compared to the unencapsulated Cur, the release rates of CABNs and CTAPMs decreased from 87% to 70% at 3 h and from 92% to 25% at 48 h, respectively. The antioxidant capacities of CABNs and CTAPMs were significantly improved. The CTAPMs exhibited a better antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli than CABNs due to the synergistic photosensitive effect between Cur and PheoA.

Effects of a Nutraceutical Multicompound, with Probiotics, Hericium, PEA, and Undaria in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal condition. Probiotics and other nutraceutical compounds can have specific indications in the context of IBS. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 123 IBS patients in order to evaluate the effects of an oral probiotic-based dietary supplement (Colicron, one cps/day for 4 wk) on stool consistency and pain intensity. Different time points were defined as follows: baseline (T0), 2 wk of treatment (T2), and 4 wk of treatment (T4). Stool consistency was assessed by using the Bristol Stool Scale. Pain intensity was evaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Patients who were initially categorized as normal retained regular bowel movements throughout the study. Both patients with constipation and diarrhea showed an improvement in the Bristol Stool Scale. The score increased from 1.5 ± 0.5 to 3.3 ± 0.7 (p < 0.001) and decreased from 6.5 ± 0.7 to 4.3 ± 0.9 (p < 0.001) at T4, respectively, compared to T0. The VAS score for pain in the pooled IBS patients improved from 6.7 ± 2.2 to 2.8 ± 1.9 at T0 vs T4 (p < 0.001), with a similar trend also observed when patients were categorized based on stool consistency: normal (from 5.2 ± 1.9 to 2.9 ± 1.7), constipation (from 7.5 ± 1.3 to 3.2 ± 2.2), and diarrhea (6.7 ± 2.3 to 2.5 ± 1.9) (p < 0.001).

Colicron could be useful in symptom relief, reducing abdominal pain and improving stool consistency of IBS patients. However, further controlled clinical trials are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

Hericium erinaceus, in combination with natural flavonoid/alkaloid and B3/B8 vitamins, can improve inflammatory burden in Inflammatory bowel diseases tissue: an ex vivo study

Hericium erinaceus, berberine, and quercetin are effective in experimental colitis. It is unknown whether they can ameliorate inflammatory bowel diseases in humans. This ex vivo study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of a nutraceutical compound of HBQ-Complex^® (H. erinaceus, berberine, and quercetin), biotin, and niacin in inflammatory bowel disease patients. Tissue specimens were obtained either from Normal-Appearing Mucosa (NAM) or from Inflamed Mucosa (IM) in 20 patients with inflammatory bowel disease. mRNA and protein expression of COX-2, IL-10, and TNF-α were determined in NAM and IM biopsy samples (T0). IM samples were then incubated in HBQ-Complex^® (with the addition of niacin and biotin), and COX-2, IL-10, and TNF-α tissue levels were evaluated at 120 minutes (T1) and 180 minutes (T2). Incubation with this compound resulted in a progressive decrease in gene and protein COX-2 and TNF-α expression at T1/T2 in the IM. IL-10 showed an opposite trend, with a progressive increase of mRNA and protein expression over the same time window. HBQ-Complex^® (with the addition of niacin and biotin) decreased the expression of proinflammatory cytokines at the mRNA and protein levels in IBD tissue. On the contrary, mRNA and protein expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 showed a progressive increase.

Hericium erinaceus, a medicinal fungus with a centuries-old history: Evidence in gastrointestinal diseases

Hericium erinaceus is an edible and medicinal mushroom commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Several studies have highlighted its therapeutic potential for gastrointestinal disorders such as gastritis and inflammatory bowel diseases. In addition, some components of this mushroom appear to possess strong antineoplastic capabilities against gastric and colorectal cancer. This review aims to analyse all available evidence on the digestive therapeutic potential of this fungus as well as the possible underlying molecular mechanisms.

Effect of Kvass on Improving Functional Dyspepsia in Rats

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common digestive system disease, and probiotics in the treatment of FD have a good curative effect. Patients with gastrointestinal diseases often show a poor response to traditional drug treatments and suffer from adverse reactions. Kvass can be used as a functional drink without side effects to improve the symptoms of FD patients. The results showed that compared with those of the model group, the body weight and food intake of the treatment group were significantly increased (P < 0.05), and the gastric residual rate of the treatment group was significantly decreased (P < 0.05); the amount of pepsin in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the model group (P < 0.05); a high dose of Kvass could increase the contents of ghrelin, motilin (MTL), and gastrin (GAS) in the plasma and decrease the contents of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the plasma; the contents of ghrelin, MTL, and GAS in the gastric antrum were also increased in the high-dose group. Kvass beverage can significantly improve the gastrointestinal function of rats, which may be because it can improve the contents of ghrelin, MTL, GAS, and VIP in both the serum and gastric antrum by regulating the expression of short-chain fatty acids in the colon.

Performance of a multi-compounds nutraceutical formulation in patients with symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease

BACKGROUND

Symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD) is a recognized clinical condition characterized by abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits, attributed to diverticula but without macroscopic signs of diverticulitis. There is no consensus about the management of these patients. Enteroflegin®, an association of natural active ingredients, could be effective in the treatment of those patients.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective observational study to evaluate the performances of Enteroflegin® in patients with SUDD. Patients were treated with Enteroflegin® 2 cp/day for 10 days per month for 6 months. Primary endpoint was the clinical remission rate, defined as the absence of any symptoms; secondary endpoints were the impact of the treatment on reduction of symptoms, on fecal calprotectin (FC) expression, and the prevention of acute diverticulitis.

RESULTS

Three hundred and fifty patients were retrospectively enrolled (183 males, median age 64 yrs, IQR 54-70). Enteroflegin® was effective in inducing remission in 9.34% and 17.64% of patients at 3 and 6 months respectively (p<0.001). Reduction of symptoms occurred in 92.3% and in 85.3% of patients at 3 and 6 months respectively (p<0.001), and symptoms' recurrence or worsening was recorded in only 1.71% of patients during the follow-up. FC expression dropped from 181,3 μg/g at baseline to 100,2 μg/g (p<0.001) and to 67,9 μg/g (p<0.001) at 3 and 6 months of follow-up respectively. No adverse event was recorded during the follow-up. Finally, acute diverticulitis occurred in just 2% of patients during the follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Enteroflegin® seems to be an effective nutraceutical compound in obtaining remission and symptom relief in SUDD patients. Further randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials are needed to confirm these preliminary data.

Enhanced Erinacine A Production by Hericium erinaceus Using Solid-State Cultivation

Hericium erinaceus (HE) is a large edible medicinal fungus. Erinacine A (ErA) is a secondary metabolite presented in the mycelia of HE, with pharmacological effects as a nerve growth factor on the central nervous system. In this study, solid-state cultivation of HE was carried out in Petri dishes and glass jars for the production of mycelial biomass and ErA. The potato dextrose agar (PDA) had the highest mycelial biomass at an optimal temperature of 25 °C, but no ErA was found in the agar media. In glass jar cultivation, the mycelial biomass and specific yield of ErA in different substrates, particle sizes, substrate weights, nitrogen sources, and inorganic salts were investigated. The ErA was purified by a self-pack silica gel column and a semi-preparative HPLC and was identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer. The best conditions for solid-state cultivation of HE when using corn kernel as substrate, particle size less than 2.38 mm, and addition of 10mM ZnSO4, 7H2O, mycelial biomass of 50.24 mg cell dry weight/g substrate was obtained, in addition, the specific yield of ErA could reach 165.36 mg/g cell dry weight.

Value added immunoregulatory polysaccharides of Hericium erinaceus and their effect on the gut microbiota

Hericium erinaceus polysaccharides (HEPs) were isolated from the fruiting bodies of H. erinaceus with 53.36 % total carbohydrates and 32.56 % uronic acid. To examine whether HEPs can alter the diversity and the abundance of gut microbiota, adult mice and middle-aged and old mice were fed with HEPs for 28 days. Based on the result of 16S sequencing of gut microbiota it was found that the relative abundances of Lachnospiraceae and Akkermansiaceae significantly increased, while the relative abundance of Rikenellaceae and Bacteroidaceae appeared to decrease. Bacterial solutions from different murine intestinal segments and feces were collected to ferment HEPs in vitro. It was found that HEPs remarkably promoted the production of NO, IL-6, IL-10, INF-γ and TNF-α. Moreover, HEPs significantly increased phosphorylation of signaling molecules, indicating that the immunomodulatory activity was completed via NF-кB, MAPK and PI3K/Akt pathways. Collectively, HEPs have potential to be developed as functional ingredients or foods to promote health.

Bringing the digestibility of prebiotics into focus: update of carbohydrate digestion models

Oro-gastrointestinal digestion of dietary carbohydrates involves up to six different carbohydrases in a multistage process. Enzymes from the small intestinal brush border membrane play a major role in the digestibility of these substrates. However, to date, the inclusion of these small intestinal enzymes has been dismissed in most in vitro studies carried out, despite their importance in the degradation of carbohydrates. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the capability of brush border enzymes to degrade certain "non-digestible" carbohydrates to a different extent depending on their structural composition (monomeric composition, glycosidic linkage, etc.). In this sense, considering the available evidence, mucosal disaccharidases embedded in the small intestinal brush border membrane vesicles must be considered in addition to α-amylases; therefore, new approaches for the evaluation of the digestibility of carbohydrates have been recently reported. These new methods based on the utilization of the small intestinal enzymes present in the brush border membrane aim to fulfill the final and key step of the digestion of carbohydrates in the small intestine. Here, rat small intestinal extract enzymes as well as brush border membrane vesicles from pig have emerged as very reliable and useful tools to evaluate carbohydrate digestion. Thus, this review aims to go briefly through the most relevant digestion methods for carbohydrates that are currently available and to highlight the new improved methods, which include mammalian intestinal enzymes, and their current use in the evaluation of the digestibility of prebiotics.

In vitro Gastrointestinal Models for Prebiotic Carbohydrates: A Critical Review

Background:

In the last decade, various consortia and companies have created standardized digestion protocols and gastrointestinal simulators, such as the protocol proposed by the INFOGEST Consortium, the simulator SHIME, the simulator simgi®, the TIM, etc. Most of them claim to simulate the entire human gastrointestinal tract. However, few results have been reported on the use of these systems with potential prebiotic carbohydrates.

Methods:

This critical review addresses the existing data on the analysis of prebiotic carbohydrates by different in vitro gastrointestinal simulators, the lack of parameters that could affect the results, and recommendations for their enhancement.

Results:

According to the reviewed data, there is a lack of a realistic approximation of the small intestinal conditions, mainly because of the absence of hydrolytic conditions, such as the presence of small intestinal brush border carbohydrases that can affect the digestibility of different carbohydrates, including prebiotics.

Conclusion:

There is a necessity to standardize and enhance the small intestine simulators to study the in vitro digestibility of carbohydrates.