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The use of antibiotics to treat diarrhea and other diseases early in life can lead to intestinal disorders in infants, which can cause a range of immune-related diseases. Intestinal microbiota diversity is closely related to dietary intake, with many oligosaccharides impacting intestinal microorganism structures and communities. Thus, oligosaccharide type and quantity are important for intestinal microbiota construction. Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) are functional oligosaccharides that can be supplemented with infant formula. Currently, information on GOS and its impact on intestinal microbiota diversity and disorders is lacking. Similarly, GOS is rarely reported within the context of intestinal barrier function. In this study, 16S rRNA sequencing, gas chromatography, and immunohistochemistry were used to investigate the effects of GOS on the intestinal microbiota and barrier pathways in antibiotic-treated mouse models. The results found that GOS promoted Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia proliferation, increased short-chain fatty acid levels, increased tight junction protein expression (occludin and ZO-1), increased secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and albumin levels, significantly downregulated NF-κB expression, and reduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukin-IL-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 levels. Also, a high GOS dose in ampicillin-supplemented animals provided resistance to intestinal damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The intestinal microbiota and metabolites play an important role in human health and immunity. However, few studies have investigated the long‐term effects of stachyose on the human intestinal microbiota and metabolism. Therefore, in this study, the feces of infants were transplanted into germ‐free mice, and the effect of long‐term stachyose intake on intestinal metabolism was examined by comparing the results of microbiome and metabolome analyses. Ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) was used to study the effects of stachyose intake on the metabolites and metabolic pathways of the transplanted human intestinal microbiota. RESULTS: We observed that stachyose significantly altered the composition of the intestinal microbiota and metabolites, up‐regulated production of the metabolite taurocholic acid, down‐regulated amino acid metabolism, and significantly regulated the metabolism of taurine and hydroxytaurine, pantothenate and coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis, and other signaling pathways. CONCLUSION: These findings may provide a basis for elucidating the mechanism by which stachyose promotes host health. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplementation with probiotics is considered to be a promising intervention strategy for attenuating colorectal cancer (CRC) by regulating gut microenvironment. This study aimed to investigate the potential CRC ameliorating effect of a multi-strain probiotics mixture on azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium-induced CRC mice. After establishing the CRC mouse model, the mice were gavaged with probiotics mixture once daily (∼1 × 109 CFU/mouse) for 8 consecutive weeks. The anti-tumorigenesis effect of probiotics mixture was investigated from the aspects of intestinal microbiota, inflammation, barrier function and oxidative stress. The fecal microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results showed that probiotics mixture could significantly inhibit tumorigenesis and inflammatory response. The intestinal barrier function was ameliorated after treatment with this probiotics mixture by recovering the expression of tight junction-related proteins and preventing goblet cell loss. The oxidative stress was alleviated under the increase of antioxidant mediators (total mercapto, reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase) and the decrease of oxidative mediators (malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase). In addition, supplementation of probiotics mixture led to an increase of some beneficial bacteria (Lachnospiraceae and Roseburia) and a decrease of some harmful bacteria (Bacteroides and Desulfovibrio), which in turn increased short-chain fatty acids and decreased lipopolysaccharide. These results suggested that the anti-CRC effect of probiotics mixture is mediated by regulating intestinal microbiota, maintaining intestinal barrier function, alleviating inflammation and oxidative stress, which further suggested that this probiotics mixture can be considered as a potential functional food ingredient to attenuate CRC. • Probiotics mixture ameliorated chemically-induced colorectal cancer. • Probiotics mixture inhibited tumor formation and inflammatory response. • Probiotics mixture alleviated the damage of intestinal barrier function. • Probiotics mixture attenuated oxidative stress injury. • Probiotics mixture modulated intestinal microbiota dysbiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protective effects of CMPs against T2DM might be attributed to the regulation of gut microbial disorders, differential metabolites and metabolic pathways. [Display omitted] • CMPs improved glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance in T2DM mice. • CMPs reversed histopathological damage in T2DM mice. • CMPs intervention remarkably modulated the imbalance of gut microbiota. • CMPs' hypoglycemia effect related to metabolite changes induced by gut microbiota. This study aimed to investigate the hypoglycemic effect of Camel milk peptides (CMPs) on Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mice and reveal its related mechanism from the aspect of gut microbiota and metabolites. The administering CMPs significantly alleviated the weight loss, polydipsia and polyphagia, reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG), improved insulin resistance and sensitivity, and restored the level of serum hormones, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipid metabolic and tissue damage. Furthermore, CMPs intervention remarkably reversed gut microbiota dysbiosis in T2DM mice by reducing the relative abundance of Proteobacteria , Allobaculum , Clostridium , Shigella and the Firmicutes / Bacteroidetes ratio, while increasing the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Blautia. Metabolomic analysis identified 84 different metabolites between T2DM and CMPs-treated groups, participating in three pathways of Pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, Phenylalanine metabolism and Linoleic acid metabolism. Ureidopropionic acid, pantothenic acid, hippuric acid, hydrocinnamic acid and linoleic acid were identified as key acidic metabolites closely related to hypoglycemic effect. Correlation analysis indicated that CMPs might have a hypoglycemic effect through their impact on gut microbiota, leading to variations in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), acidic metabolites and metabolic pathways. These findings suggest that CMPs could be a beneficial nutritional supplement for intervention T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Stachyose can increase tight binding through Akkermansia in germ-free mice. • Stachyose can reduce the levels of inflammation by regulating NF-κB pathway. • The intestinal microbiota functions in protecting the shape of intestinal tissues. Early life is a crucial period for the development of the intestinal microbiota and is related to the body's immunity. Yet research is lacking regarding the effect of stachyose on infants gut microbiomes at this stage and the mechanism is not clear. Therefore, in this experiment, feces samples collected from infants were transplanted into germ-free mice, to explore the effect of stachyose on the intestinal microbiota and host gut barrier. We found that stachyose promoted the relative abundance of A. muciniphila in human feces; enhanced the symbiotic relationships of A. muciniphila ; increased the short-chain fatty acid level, and secretory immunoglobulin A level; reduced the levels of lipopolysaccharide, IL-1, IL-17 and TNF-α through downregulated the expression of NF-κB; increased expression of tight junction proteins (occludin and ZO-1) and goblet cell through A. muciniphila. The intake of stachyose is conducive to promoting the proliferation of beneficial bacteria and enhancing the intestinal barrier in germ-free mice. This research provides a theoretical basis for the use of prebiotics to improve intestinal microbiota and barrier in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]