Synbiotic supplementation with prebiotic green banana resistant starch and probiotic Bacillus coagulans spores ameliorates gut inflammation in mouse model of inflammatory bowel diseases.

PURPOSE: The research goal is to develop dietary strategies to help address the growing incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This study has investigated the effectiveness of green banana resistant starch (GBRS) and probiotic Bacillus coagulans MTCC5856 spores for the amelioration of dextran-sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. METHODS: Eight-week-old C57BL/6 mice were fed standard rodent chow diet supplemented with either B. coagulans, GBRS or its synbiotic combination. After 7 days supplementation, colitis was induced by adding 2% DSS in drinking water for 7 days while continuing the supplemented diets. Animal health was monitored and after 14 days all animals were sacrificed to measure the biochemical and histochemical changes associated with each supplement type. RESULTS: The disease activity index and histological damage score for DSS-control mice (6.1, 17.1, respectively) were significantly higher (p < 0.0001) than the healthy mice. Synbiotic supplementation alleviated these markers (- 67%, - 94% respectively) more adequately than B. coagulans (- 52%, - 58% respectively) or GBRS (- 57%, - 26%, respectively) alone. Compared to DSS-control synbiotic supplementation significantly (p < 0.0001) maintained expressions of tight junction proteins. Moreover, synbiotic effects accounted for ~ 40% suppression of IL-1ß and ~ 29% increase in IL-10 levels in serum while also reducing C-reactive protein (- 37%) compared to that of the DSS-control. While, B. coagulans alone could not induce additional levels of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production beyond the caecum, the synbiotic combination with GBRS resulted in substantial increased SCFA levels across the whole length of the colon. CONCLUSION: The synbiotic supplementation with B. coagulans and GBRS ameliorated the overall inflammatory status of the experimental IBD model via synergistic functioning. This supports researching its application in mitigating inflammation in human IBD.

Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 Modulates Intestinal-Specific Microbiota, Short-Chain Fatty Acid and Immunological Profiles in Aging Mice.

Distribution of the microbiota varies according to the location in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Thus, dysbiosis during aging may not be limited to faecal microbiota and extend to the other parts of the GI tract, especially the cecum and colon. Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1, a probiotic strain, has been shown to modulate faecal microbiota and its associated metabolic phenotype in aging mice. In the present study, we investigated the effect of L. acidophilus DDS-1 supplementation on caecal- and mucosal-associated microbiota, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and immunological profiles in young and aging C57BL/6J mice. Besides differences in the young and aging control groups, we observed microbial shifts in caecal and mucosal samples, leading to an alteration in SCFA levels and immune response. DDS-1 treatment increased the abundances of beneficial bacteria such as Akkermansia spp. and Lactobacillus spp. more effectively in caecal samples than in mucosal samples. DDS-1 also enhanced the levels of butyrate, while downregulating the production of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1ß, IL-1α, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1ß, IL-12 and IFN-γ) in serum and colonic explants. Our findings suggest distinct patterns of intestinal microbiota, improvements in SCFA and immunological profiles with DDS-1 supplementation in aging mice.