Dietary supplementation of ark clams protects gut health and modifies gut microbiota in d-galactose-induced aging rats.

BACKGROUND: Ark clams, a seafood abundant in various nutrients, are widely consumed worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the protective benefits of two common ark clams in Korea, Scapharca subcrenata (SS) and Tegillarca granosa (TG), on gut health in d-galactose (d-gal)-induced aging rats. RESULTS: Thirty-two Wistar rats (11 weeks old) were randomly allocated into four groups: a CON group (normal diet + saline intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection), a CD group (normal diet + d-gal i.p. injection), an SS group (normal diet with 5% SS supplementation + d-gal i.p. injection), and a TG group (normal diet with 5% TG supplementation + d-gal i.p. injection). After 12 weeks of treatment, histopathological results showed that gut barrier damage was alleviated in rats of the SS and TG groups, as evidenced by increases in mucus layer thickness and goblet cell numbers. Meanwhile, the two groups supplemented with ark clams showed an evident reduction in oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl content levels in the colon) and an increase in the immune-related factor (immunoglobulin A level in the plasma) in rats. The 16S ribosomal RNA analysis revealed that SS and TG ark clams significantly increased the proliferations of Bacteroidetes at the phylum level and Parabacteroides at the genus level. Additionally, the levels of the three main short-chain fatty acids in the cecal contents were also significantly increased in the SS and TG groups. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated a potent preventive effect of SS and TG ark clams on d-gal-induced gut injury, suggesting that ark clams may be a promising dietary component for intervening in aging. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Roasted garlic protects against leaky gut syndrome in dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis mice.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a potentially beneficial functional food that is extensively grown around the globe. We have investigated the effect of roasted garlic on a dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced intestinal permeability model in mice. Mice were divided into four diet groups: CON, DSS, RG (roasted garlic), and RG + Purple bamboo salt (RGP) in the AIN 93G diet for 3 weeks. All groups except the CON group received 2% DSS in drinking water at the last week of the experiment. DSS groups showed significantly elevated gut permeability levels and decreased tight junction protein expression compared to CON. However, RG and RGP displayed remarkably lower trends of gut permeability, increased tight junction protein expression, increased number of goblet cells than the DSS group in hematoxylin and eosin and alcian blue-nuclear fast red stained colon sections. These results indicate that roasted garlic could prevent gut leakage induced by DSS. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-022-01116-w.