Effects of the Phytocompound Combination against Dysbiosis Induced by AGE-Rich High-fat Diet in Mice

The composition of the Microbiota can be influenced by various lifestyle and environmental factors, including diet. We designed a study to investigate the improving effects of plant extract, the combination of turmeric, ginger, boswellia, and cat’s claw on the abundance of key members of the gut microbiota, Bacteroidetes, Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila), Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prausnitzii), Firmicutes and Bifidobacterium in mice treated with advanced glycation end products (AGE) rich high-fat diet (HFD).

Eighteen 2-month age male C57BL/6 mice were adopted to a regular diet for 1 week and then fed with an HFD or regular diet. After 8 weeks of diet, animals received plant extract concurrently with HFD for 8 weeks. Stools were taken, DNA of stool samples was extracted, and qPCR of 16s rDNA universal primers was performed. Then the effect of plant extract on dysbiosis induced by AGE-rich HFD was accessed.

Our results revealed the frequencies of Bacteroidetes (p=0.001), A. muciniphila (p= 0.0005), F. prausnitzii (p<0.0001), and Bifidobacterium (p= 0.0008) were reduced, whereas the frequency of Firmicute was increased in the AGE-rich HFD group. A significant increase in the F/B ratio was observed in the HFD group than in the regular diet group (p= 0.0003). plant extract reduced the F/B ratio and improved gut microbiota homeostasis. 

Plant extract restored gut microbiota patterns in HFD-treated mice. It seems more studies are required to prove the application of plant extracts for modulating the gut microbiota as a promising new biomarker with potential for therapeutic applications.