The Association of Gut Microbiota with Resting Metabolic Rate in Overweight/Obese Women: A Case-Control Study

Purpose Low Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), as a risk factor for obesity, can be affected by many factors. Indeed, genetic and environmental factors are variables taken into account when predicting RMR, and may contribute to a high inter-individual variance. Besides the well-known causes of obesity, researchers have demonstrated the contribution of gut microflora in obesity and energy expenditure. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to compare the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and the relative abundance of, Prevotellaceae, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, bifidobactrium spp, lactobacillus spp, Akkermansia muciniphila, Bacteroides fragilis, and Escherichia coli in two groups of people with normal and low RMR in overweigh/obese women in Iran. Results The abundance of F. prausnitzii (p>0.001), B. fragilis (P= 0.02), and Firmicutes phylum (P= 0.02) were significantly higher in the controls compared to the cases, and showed significant positive association with RMR, (β = 1.29 ×10−5, P=0.01), (β = 4.13 ×10−6, p= 0.04), and (β = 7.76 ×10−1, p= 0.01), respectively. Regarding Lactobacilus, the results showed a significant positive association with RMR (β = 1.73 ×10−4, p= 0.01). Conclusion Intestinal microbiota may be associated with host metabolism. Therefore, future work should investigate, using clinical trials, the impact of manipulating gut microflora to positively influence energy expenditure.

Effect of Nanoencapsulated Alginate-Synbiotic on Gut Microflora Balance, Immunity, and Growth Performance of Growing Rabbits

A synbiotic comprising Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast (SCY) and Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MOLE) has been encapsulated using nanotechnology. This duo is used as a dietary supplement for growing rabbits. Physicochemical analyses, in vitro antimicrobial activity, and gastrointestinal system evaluation were used to evaluate the quality of the nanofabricated synbiotic. The in vivo study was conducted using 40-day-old male growing rabbits (n = 16 rabbits/group) to evaluate the effect of the nanofabricated synbiotic on the health and growth performance of examined rabbits. Rabbits were equally allocated into four groups; (a) NCS, which received a basal diet supplemented with a noncapsulated 11 × 1012 CFU SCY + 0.15 g MOLE/kg diet, (b) LCS: those receiving a nanoencapsulated 5.5 × 1012 CFU SCY + 0.075 g MOLE/kg diet, (c) HCS: those receiving an 11 × 1012 CFU SCY + 0.15 g MOLE/kg diet, and (d) CON: those receiving a basal diet without treatment (control). The treatments continued from day 40 to day 89 of age. During the experimental period, growth performance variables, including body weight (BW), feed consumption, BW gain, and feed conversion ratio were recorded weekly. Blood samples were collected on day 40 of age and immediately before the start of the treatments to confirm the homogeneity of rabbits among groups. On day 89 of age, blood samples, intestinal, and cecal samples were individually collected from eight randomly selected rabbits. The size and polydispersity index of the nanofabricated synbiotic were 51.38 nm and 0.177, respectively. Results revealed that the encapsulation process significantly improved yeast survival through the gastrointestinal tract, specifically in stomach acidic conditions, and significantly increased in vitro inhibitory activities against tested pathogens. Furthermore, treatments had no negative effects on hematobiochemical variables but significantly improved levels of blood plasma, total protein, and insulin-like growth factor-l. Compared to the CON, NCS, and LCS treatments, the HCS treatment increased the amount of intestinal and cecal yeast cells (p < 0.05) and Lactobacillus bacteria (p < 0.05) and decreased number of Salmonella (p < 0.05) and Coliform (p = 0.08) bacteria. Likewise, both LCS and HCS significantly improved the small intestine and cecum lengths compared to CON and NCS. The HCS treatment also significantly improved BW gain and feed conversion compared to CON treatment, whereas the NCS and LCS treatments showed intermediate values. Conclusively, the nanoencapsulation process improved the biological efficiency of the innovative synbiotic used in this study. A high dose of encapsulated synbiotic balanced the gut microflora, resulting in the growth of rabbits during the fattening period.

Novel Anti-inflammatory Treatments in Cirrhosis. A Literature-Based Study

Liver cirrhosis is a disease characterised by multiple complications and a poor prognosis. The prevalence is increasing worldwide. Chronic inflammation is ongoing in liver cirrhosis. No cure for the inflammation is available, and the current treatment of liver cirrhosis is only symptomatic. However, several different medical agents have been suggested as potential healing drugs. The majority are tested in rodents, but few human trials are effectuated. This review focuses on medical agents described in the literature with supposed alleviating and curing effects on liver cirrhosis. Twelve anti-inflammatory, five antioxidative, and three drugs with effects on gut microflora and the LPS pathway were found. Two drugs not categorised by the three former categories were found in addition. In total, 42 rodent studies and seven human trials were found. Promising effects of celecoxib, aspirin, curcumin, kahweol, pentoxifylline, diosmin, statins, emricasan, and silymarin were found in cirrhotic rodent models. Few indices of effects of etanercept, glycyrrhizin arginine salt, and mitoquinone were found. Faecal microbiota transplantation is in increasing searchlight with a supposed potential to alleviate cirrhosis. However, human trials are in demand to verify the findings in this review.

Oceaniglobus Trochenteri sp. nov., Isolated from the Gut Microflora of top Shell (Trochus Maculatus Linnaeus).

A Gram-stain negative, non-flagellated, beige-pigmented, circular, catalase-positive, oxidase-positive bacterium, designated G4T, was isolated from gut microflora of top shell (Trochus maculatus Linnaeus) collected from Diwanggong market, Weihai, PR China. The novel isolate was able to grow at 4–42°C (optimum 25–33°C), pH 7.0–9.0 (optimum 6.5–7.0) and with 0.0–11.0% NaCl (optimum 2.0–3.0%, w/v). Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain G4T shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities with Oceaniglobus YLY08T (96.6%), followed by Oceaniglobus indicus 1-19bT (95.3%). The genome of strain G4T, with 32 assembled contigs, was 4.5 Mb long with a G + C content of 65.3 mol%. DNA–DNA hybridization values of the isolate against the closely related type strains were far below the 70% limit for species delineation. The average amino acid identity, average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA genome hybridization relatedness between strain G4T and the closely related members of the genus Oceaniglobus, Oceaniglobus indicus1-19bT and Oceaniglobus ichthyenteri YLY08T were 71.3, 76.4 and 20.0%, and 75.0, 76.3 and 19.4%. The major cellular fatty acid was summed feature 8 (C18:1ω7c and/or C18:1ω6c). The sole respiratory quinone detected was Q-10. The polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine. The results of phenotypical, phylogenetic and biochemical analyses indicated that strain G4T represents a novel species in genus Oceaniglobus within the family Rhodobacteraceae, for which the name Oceaniglobus trochenteri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is G4T (= MCCC 1K04356T = KCTC 82506T).

The Regulatory Effects of Licochalcone A on the Intestinal Epithelium and Gut Microbiota in Murine Colitis

The gut epithelium is a mechanical barrier that protects the host from the luminal microenvironment and interacts with the gut microflora, which influences the development and progression of ulcerative colitis (UC). Licochalcone A (LA) exerts anti-inflammatory effects against UC; however, whether it also regulates both the gut barrier and microbiota during colitis is unknown. The current study was conducted to reveal the regulatory effects of LA on the intestinal epithelium and gut microflora in C57BL/6 mice subjected to dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). Sulfasalazine (SASP) was used as the positive control. Results of clinical symptoms evaluation, hematoxylin, and eosin (H&E) staining, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assays showed that LA significantly inhibited DSS-induced weight loss, disease activity index (DAI) increase, histological damage, and gut inflammation. Additionally, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis showed that LA maintained the integrity of the intestinal barrier by suppressing cell apoptosis and preserving the expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins. Notably, the optimal dose of LA for gut barrier preservation was low, while that for anti-inflammatory effects was high, indicating that LA might preserve gut barrier integrity via direct effects on the epithelial cells (ECs) and TJ proteins. Furthermore, 16S rRNA analysis suggested that the regulatory effect of LA on the gut microbiota differed distinctly according to dose. Correlation analysis indicated that a low dose of LA significantly modulated the intestinal barrier-associated bacteria as compared with a moderate or high dose of LA. Western blot (WB) analysis indicated that LA exhibited anti-UC activity partly by blocking the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Our results further elucidate the pharmacological activity of LA against UC and will provide valuable information for future studies regarding on the regulatory effects of LA on enteric diseases.