Exopolysaccharide from Weissella confusa HYF86 with sugarcane juice as a substrate alleviates colitis in mice by regulating gut microbiota

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease with increasing global incidence, which urgently demands safe and sustainable intervention strategies. This work investigated the alleviative effects of exopolysaccharide from Weissella confusa HYF86 with sugarcane juice as a substrate (SEPS86) on DSS-induced acute colitis in mice. Here, in vivo fluorescence imaging revealed that SEPS86 was primarily retained in the gastrointestinal tract with strong fluorescence signals still detectable after 6 h of intervention. In addition, DSS treatment led to weight loss, elevated disease activity index and colon shortening of mice, whereas SEPS86 significantly alleviated colon shortening, showing a trend toward improving weight loss and disease activity index. In particular, SEPS86 upregulated the mRNA expression of Claudin-1 by 2.82-fold compared with the DSS group. It is remarkable that SEPS86 significantly decreased the levels of IL-6 and IL-17, respectively. Gut microbiota analysis indicated that SEPS86 partially reversed the DSS induced dysbiosis by enriching beneficial bacteria, including Dubosiella. In addition, SEPS86 significantly increased the level of butyrate, which was 2.00-fold that of the DSS group. Overall, SEPS86 exhibited protective effects against colitis and gut microbiota regulation, which lays a foundation for developing functional foods for gut health.