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Antibiotics which can treat or prevent infectious diseases play an important role in medical therapy. However, the use of antibiotics has potential negative effects on the health of the host. For example, antibiotics use may affect the host's immune system by altering the gut microbiota. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the influence of antifungal (fluconazole) treatment on gut microbiota and immune system of mice. Results showed that gut microbial composition of mice receiving fluconazole treatment was significantly changed after the trial. Fluconazole did not affect the relative abundance of bacteria but significantly reduced the diversity of bacterial flora. In the Bacteriome, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria significantly increased, while Bacteroidetes, Deferribacteres, Patescibacteria, and Tenericutes showed a remarkable reduction in fluconazole treated group in comparison with the control group. In the mycobiome, the relative abundance of Ascomycota was significantly decreased and Mucoromycota was significantly increased in the intestine of mice treated with fluconazole compared to the control group. RT-qPCR results showed that the relative gene expression of ZO-1, occludin, MyD88, IL-1β, and IL-6 was decreased in fluconazole-treated group compared to the control. Serum levels of IL-2, LZM and IgM were significantly increased, while IgG level had considerably down-regulated in the fluconazole-treated compared to the control. These results suggest that the administration of fluconazole can influence the gut microbiota and that a healthy gut microbiome is important for the regulation of the host immune responses.

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A high-fat choline diet (HFCD)-induced atherosclerosis model in ApoE−/− mice was established to explore the anti-atherosclerotic effects of gypenoside XLIX (GPE). It was found that HFCD-induced atherosclerotic index such as dyslipidemia, atherosclerotic plaque, inflammation, and gut microbiota dysfunction could be reduced by GPE treatment. GPE treatment could decrease Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria abundance, and increase Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes population. Moreover, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio increased significantly after treatment with GPE. After treatment with GPE, the relative abundance of trimethylamine-producing intestinal bacteria Clostridioides and Desulfovibrionaceae decreased while butyrate-producing bacteria such as Eubacterium, Roseburia, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Prevotella increased significantly. The GPE group demonstrated higher SCFAs concentrations in the fecal sample, such as Acetic Acid, Propionic Acid, and Butyric Acid. Further pathway analysis showed that 29 metabolic pathways were appreciably disturbed during GPE treatment, including citrate cycle (TCA cycle); galactose and glycero-lipid-metabolism biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, fatty acid biosynthesis. This study suggests that the anti-atherosclerotic effect of GPE is related to the substantial changes in intestinal microbiota and anti-inflammatory activity.

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