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This study examined the relationship between the high‐fat, high‐sugar diet (HFHSD) and trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) induced mouse colitis, the therapeutic effect of alpha‐linolenic acid (ALA) on mouse colitis, and the relationship between HFHSD and hyperlipidemia. We also examined the possible underlying mechanisms behind their interactions. Female BABL/c mice were fed with HFHSD for the 9 weeks. At the same time, ALA treatment (150 or 300 mg/kg) was administered on a daily basis. At the end of the 9 weeks, experimental colitis was induced by the intra‐colonic administration of TNBS. Body weight, spleen weight, disease activity index (DAI), histological changes, T‐cell‐related cytokine level, and lipid profiles were measured after treatment. TNBS induced severe clinical manifestations of colitis and histological damage. Low‐ALA (150 mg/kg) administration profoundly ameliorated TNBS‐induced clinical manifestations, body weight loss, spleen weight loss, and histological damage. On the contrary, the high‐ALA (300 mg/kg) administration did not ameliorate colitis and even exacerbated the symptoms. HFHSD consumption assisted TNBS in changing IL‐12, IFN‐γ, IL‐2, and IL‐17A in the liver. As expected, these changes were recovered through low‐ALA. In addition, HFHSD had a significant impact on the total cholesterol (TC), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), and triglyceride (TG), which related to the increased risk of hyperlipidemia. In summation, HFHSD exacerbated the TNBS‐induced colitis via the Th1/Th17 pathway. The Low‐ALA (150 mg/kg) exhibited protective effects against the TNBS‐induced colitis via the Th1/Th2/Th17 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is an autoimmune disease, and the gut microbiota has become a new therapeutic target. Herbal medicine (HM) has shown good efficacy in the clinical treatment of IBD; however, the synergistic actions of the dominant chemicals in HM decoctions are unclear. Methods. In this study, we explored whether the complicated interconnections between HM and the gut microbiota could allow crosstalk between HM ingredients. Saponins and polysaccharides, i.e., the dominant chemicals in the Codonopsis pilosula Nannf (CPN) decoction, were investigated in a dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-) induced mouse model. Bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing analyzed the change of gut microbiota structure and diversity. Gas chromatography (GC) determined the content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in feces. ELISA detected the expression of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines associated with TH17/Treg balance. UPLC-QTOF-MS technology combined with PKsolver software analyzed the absorption of the highest exposure for monomeric compounds of CPN saponins in serum. The results indicated that CPN polysaccharides showed prebiotic-like effects in mice with DSS-induced colitis by simultaneously stimulating the growth of three important probiotics, i.e., Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., and Akkermansia spp., and inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria, including Desulfovibrio spp., Alistipes spp., and Helicobacter spp. Moreover, CPN polysaccharides improved intestinal metabolism, enhanced the production of short-chain fatty acids, upregulated the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines and downregulated the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines correlated with Th17/Treg balance, promoted the absorption of certain CPN saponins in the serum, and stimulated recovery of the holistic gut microbiota. Conclusion. CPN polysaccharides have the good prebiotic properties and shown good application prospects in the prevention and treatment of acute colitis. These findings provide insights into the specific bacteria responsible for active, inactive biotransformation of HM ingredients and those that are altered by HM administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Bawei Xileisan (BXS), a traditional Chinese compound medicine, has been historically used in the treatment of ulcers and inflammation. BXS is also used as a topical agent for the treatment of ulcerative colitis in China. The underlying mechanism, however, remains elusive. Materials and methods Thirty-six female C57BL/6 mice with average weight of 20±2 g were used for an in vivo study. The present work was conducted in accordance with the protocols approved by the Ethics Committee of Animal Experiments of Lanzhou University. The mice were induced to develop acute colitis by treating these with 3% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution for 5 days. Subsequently, BXS (200,400 mg/kg) was rectally administered daily for one week. All mice were killed at day 12 and their body weight, colon length, and histological changes were all recorded. Serum T helper 17 (Th17) cytokine levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Th17 and regulatory T cell (Treg) in splenocyte mononuclear cells were isolated and identified via flow cytometry. Stool DNA was extracted and the absolute number of Bacteroides and Lactobacillus were measured by using real-time Q-PCR. Results Shortened colon and damaged tissue structure were profoundly ameliorated by BXS enema. The expression level of Th17-related cytokines IL-17A/F and IL-22 was significantly and dose-dependently reduced, resulting in the restoration of Th17/Treg balance. Moreover, BXS also improved the feces Lactobacillus levels and manifested beneficial effects on Bacteroides . Conclusions The findings of the present study suggest that BXS is curative in a mouse model of ulcerative colitis, and the underlying mechanism might involve disruption of the Th17 pathway and the induction of a Th17/Treg imbalance, as well as an the development of an opsonic effect on specific gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flaxseed cake contains cyanogenic glucosides, which can be metabolized into hydrocyanic acid in an animal's body, leading to asphyxia poisoning in cells. Beta-glucosidase is highly efficient in degrading cyanogenic glucosides. The Cattle may have β-glucosidase-producing strains in the intestinal tract after eating small amounts of flaxseed cake for a long time. This study aimed to isolate of a strain from cow dung that produces β-glucosidase with high activity and can significantly reduce the amount of cyanogenic glucosides. We used cow dung as the microflora source and an esculin agar as the selective medium. After screening with 0.05% esculin and 0.01% ferric citrate, we isolated 5 strains producing high amounts of β-glucosidase. In vitro flaxseed cake fermentation was fermented by these 5 strains, in which the strain M-2 exerted the best effect ( P  < 0.05). The strain M-2 was identified as Lichtheimia ramosa and used as the fermentation strain to optimize the fermentation parameters by a single factor analysis and orthogonal experimental design. The optimum condition was as follows: inoculum size 3%, water content 60%, time 144 h, and temperature 32 °C. Under this condition, the removal rate of cyanogenic glucosides reached 89%, and crude protein increment reached 44%. These results provided a theoretical basis for the removal of cyanogenic glucosides in flaxseed and the comprehensive utilization of flaxseed cake.