Metasilicate-based alkaline mineral water confers diarrhea resistance in maternally separated piglets via the microbiota-gut interaction.

Stress or stress-induced intestinal disturbances, especially diarrhea, are the main triggers for inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Diarrhea and intestinal inflammatory disease afflict patients around the world, and it has become a huge burden on the global health care system. Drinking sodium metasilicate-based alkaline mineral water (SM-based AMW) exerts a potential therapeutic effect in gastrointestinal disorders, including gut inflammation, and diarrhea, but the supportive evidence on animal studies and mechanism involved remain unreported. The maternally separated (MS) piglet (Newly weaned piglet) is an excellent model to investigate the treatment of diarrhea in infant. This study aims to determine whether drinking SM-based AMW confers diarrhea resistance in maternally separated (MS) piglets under weaning stress and what the underlying mechanisms are involved. 240 newly weaned piglets were randomly divided into the Control group and the sodium metasilicate pentahydrate (SMP) group. A decreased diarrhea incidence was observed in SMP treatment piglets. The intestine injury and activated stress hormones (COR and ACTH) induced by weaning was alleviated by SM-based AMW. This may be related to the improvement of intestinal microflora structure and function by SMP, especially the increase of s_copri abundance. Meanwhile, SMP maintained the integrity of the duodenal mucus barrier in MS piglets. Importantly, by targeting NF-κB inhibition via the microbiota-gut interaction, SM-based AMW alleviated intestinal inflammation, maintained fluid homeostasis by modulating aquaporins and fluid transporter expression, and enhanced barrier integrity by suppressing MLCK/p-MLC signaling. Therefore, drinking metasilicate-based alkaline mineral water confers diarrhea resistance in MS piglets via the microbiota-gut interaction.

Pectin-silica gels as matrices for controlled drug release in gastrointestinal tract.

The synthesis of pectin-silica gels for controlled drug release in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) using low methoxyl (LM) and high methoxy (HM) pectins and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as precursor is described. The FTIR spectra of the pectin-silica gels show intense absorption bands at 1246cm-1 and 802cm-1 corresponding to the vibrations COSi bonds, which absent in the FTIR spectra of the native pectins that indicate the formation covalent bond between silica and pectin macromolecules in the pectin-silica gels. Pectin-TEOS, pectin-Ca-TEOS and pectin-TEOS-Ca beads with mesalazine are synthesized by different combinations of sol-gel method using TEOS and ionotropic gelation method using calcium chloride. The best resistant of pectin-TEOS and pectin-Ca-TEOS beads during incubation in simulated gastric fluid for 2h and subsequently in simulated intestinal fluids for 18h is indicated. Pectin-TEOS beads are characterized by higher encapsulation efficiency (to 28%) than pectin-Ca-TEOS beads (to 16%). The drug release of pectin-silica beads in simulated GIT occurs gradually up to 80% and is directly dependent on the hardness of the beads. The surface morphology of beads is shown. The use of pectin-silica beads is promising with regard to the development of controlled release of drug formulations.