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

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 andand 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 asandwere increased while the potentially pathogenic and inflammation-associated microorganisms likewere 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. 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.