Polysaccharide from Edible Alga Enteromorpha clathrata Improves Ulcerative Colitis in Association with Increased Abundance of Parabacteroides spp. in the Gut Microbiota of Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Fed Mice

• Published in: Marine drugs Vol. 20; no. 12; p. 764
• Main Authors: Ma, Mingfeng, Fu, Tianyu, Wang, Yamin, Zhang, Aijun, Gao, Puyue, Shang, Qingsen, Yu, Guangli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 04.12.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Abundance; Algae; Animals; Bacteria; Body weight; Body weight loss; Colitis - chemically induced; Colitis - drug therapy; Colitis - microbiology; Colitis, Ulcerative - chemically induced; Colitis, Ulcerative - drug therapy; Colon; Colon - microbiology; Constipation; Crohns disease; Dextran; Dextran sulfate; Dextran Sulfate - toxicity; dextran sulfate sodium; Dextrans; Disease Models, Animal; Enteromorpha clathrata; Fatty acids; Fermentation; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Hyperlipidemia; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Intestinal microflora; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microbiota; Next-generation sequencing; Oral administration; Parabacteroides; Parabacteroides distasonis; polysaccharide; Polysaccharides; Probiotics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; rRNA 16S; Sodium; Sulfates; Symbionts; Ulcerative colitis; Weight control; Weight loss; Weight reduction; Enteromorpha clathrata; Parabacteroides distasonis; polysaccharide; dextran sulfate sodium; ulcerative colitis; short-chain fatty acids; inflammatory bowel disease
• ISSN: 1660-3397; 1660-3397
• DOI: 10.3390/md20120764

Polysaccharide from the edible alga has been demonstrated to exert beneficial effects on human health. However, what effect it has on inflammatory bowel diseases has not been investigated. Here, using a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis, we illustrate that polysaccharide (ECP) could alleviate body weight loss, reduce incidences of colonic bleeding, improve stool consistency and ameliorate mucosal damage in diseased mice. 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic analysis indicated that ECP significantly changed the structure of the gut microbiota and increased the abundance of spp. in DSS-fed mice. In vitro fermentation studies further confirmed that ECP could promote the growth of F1-28, a next-generation probiotic bacterium isolated from the human gut, and increase its production of short-chain fatty acids. Additionally, F1-28 was also found to have anti-ulcerative colitis effects in DSS-fed mice. Altogether, our study demonstrates for the first time a beneficial effect of ECP on ulcerative colitis and provides a possible basis for understanding its therapeutic mechanisms from the perspective of symbiotic gut bacteria .