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The effects were investigated of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on immunoregulation and gut microbiota dysbiosis in CTX-induced mice to elucidate whether the attenuation of immunosuppression is related to the modulation of the gut microbiota.

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Digestion and fermentation in vitro of polysaccharides from bee collected pollen of Chinese wolfberry (WBPPS) were investigated in the present study. It was found that WBPPS mainly consisted of mannose, ribose, rhamnose, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, xylose, and arabinose in a molar ratio of 0.38:0.09:0.17:0.64:0.22:0.67:0.08:1.03, respectively. WBPPS was not affected by human saliva. The fraction A (molecular weight 1340 kDa) of WBPPS was not broken down in simulated gastric and small intestinal juices, while the small fraction B (molecular weight 523 kDa) of WBPPS was degraded. Moreover, fermentation in vitro revealed that WBPPS could significantly enhance the production of short-chain fatty acids and modulate gut microbiota composition via increasing the relative abundances of genera Prevotella, Dialister, Megamonas, Faecalibacterium, and Alloprevotella and decreasing the numbers of genera Bacteroides, Clostridium XlVa, Parabacteroides, Escherichia/Shigella, Phascolarctobacterium, Parasutterella, Clostridium sensu stricto, and Fusobacterium.

In this study, the effects of 2-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid (AA-2βG), a natural ascorbic acid derivative from the fruits of Lycium barbarum, on treating the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice were investigated. The results revealed that AA-2βG had palliating effects on DSS-induced inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in terms of slowing down the trends of body weight and solid fecal mass loss, reducing colitis disease activity index, improving serum physiological and biochemical indicators, increasing colon length, blocking proinflammatory cytokines, and increasing tight junction proteins. Additionally, AA-2βG treatment could promote the production of short-chain fatty acids and modulate the composition of the gut microbiota. The key bacteria related to IBD were found to be Porphyromonadaceae, Prevotellaceae, Rikenellaceae, Parasutterella, Parabacteroides, and Clostridium. The results indicated that AA-2βG might treat IBD through the regulation of gut microbiota, suggesting that AA-2βG has the potential to be used as a dietary supplement in the treatment of IBD.