Reshaping the gut microbiota to ameliorate DSS-induced colitis using a novel synbiotic consisting of jujube powder and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) remains challenging to existing therapeutic approaches, which may have variable efficacy, side effects, and high relapse rates. Increasing evidence indicates the critical role of the gut microbiota in UC pathogenesis, making microbiota-targeted therapies promising for treatment. Here, we propose a novel synbiotic consisting of jujube powder and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and confirm its effectiveness in ameliorating DSS-induced mouse colitis symptoms, including body weight loss, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, colon shortening, and histological damage. The synbiotic also enriched the diversity of the gut microbiota, in which anti-inflammatory microorganisms such as Parasutterella and Parabacteroides were increased while the potentially pathogenic and inflammation-associated microorganisms like Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 were suppressed. More importantly, the synbiotic helped to maintain immune homeostasis and inhibit the imbalance between Th1 and Th2 cells. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of the synbiotic was shown as a function of the ratio of jujube powder to Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. The aforementioned findings have shown the potential of this synbiotic in ameliorating colitis and are also helpful in deepening our understanding of the effects and mechanisms of the gut microbiota in UC therapy.