Effects of Auricularia auricula Polysaccharides on Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Phenotype in Mice

Abstract

Personalized diets change the internal metabolism of organisms, which, in turn, affects the health of the body; this study was performed to explore the regulatory effects of polysaccharides extracted from Auricularia auricula on the overall metabolism and gut microbiota in normal C57BL/6J mice. The study was conducted using metabolomic and microbiomic methods to provide a scientific basis for further development and use of Auricularia auricula resources in the Qinba Mountains and in nutritional food with Auricularia auricula polysaccharides (AAP) as the main functional component. Based on LC-MS/MS metabolomic results, 51 AAP-regulated metabolites were found, mainly enriched in the arginine biosynthesis pathway, which had the highest correlation, followed by the following metabolisms: arginine and proline; glycine, serine and threonine; and glycerophospholipid, along with the sphingolipid metabolism pathway. Furthermore, supplementation of AAP significantly changed the composition of the mice intestinal flora. The relative abundance levels of Lactobacillus johnsonii, Weissella cibaria, Kosakonia cowanii, Enterococcus faecalis, Bifidobacterium animalis and Bacteroides uniformis were markedly up-regulated, while the relative abundance of Firmicutes bacterium M10-2 was down-regulated. The bioactivities of AAP may be related to the regulatory effects of endogenous metabolism and gut microbiota composition.

Updated Progress on Polysaccharides with Anti-Diabetic Effects through the Regulation of Gut Microbiota: Sources, Mechanisms, and Structure–Activity Relationships

“…Polysaccharides from Grifola frondose and Lentinula edodes significantly increased the abundance of Alistipes in mice [ 156 , 157 ]. Auricularia auricula polysaccharides markedly increased the level of Bifidobacterium animalis, Morchella esculenta, and Inonotus obliquus polysaccharides enhanced the level of Lactobacillus in mice [ 77 , 158 , 159 ].…”

The Current State and Future Prospects of Auricularia auricula’s Polysaccharide Processing Technology Portfolio

“…According to the research, as shown in Figure 5 , there are as many as 51 metabolites regulated by Auricularia auricula polysaccharide, which are mainly concentrated in the arginine biosynthesis pathway, followed by the arginine and proline, glycine, serine, and threonine, glycerophospholipids, and sphingolipid metabolic pathways [ 60 ]. These pathways can lower total and LDL cholesterol levels and alter the composition of the intestinal flora.…”

Auricularia auricula polysaccharides attenuate obesity in mice through gut commensal Papillibacter cinnamivorans

“…The fruit bodies of Auricularia auricula are rich in polysaccharides and have been historically used both as a food and as a drug in oriental countries for over 1000 years [17] . The most functional components of Auricularia auricula are considered to be the polysaccharides, which have been suggested to play important biological roles, such as antioxidant, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, immunomodulatory, antitumor and antiviral activities [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] . However, whether Auricularia auricula polysaccharides (AAP) provide direct influence over bodyweight and obesity-linked metabolic disorders remains largely unknown.…”