High-throughput sequencing technology reveals polysaccharides from Angelica dahurica that affect gut microbiota in mice

Abstract

Angelica dahurica is an ancient herbaceous plant and a famous traditional Chinese medicine. A. dahurica polysaccharides (AdPs) are macromolecular bioactive carbohydrates that have many functions. The animal gut contains a remarkable abundance of microbes that are closely related and play a major role in maintaining the overall health. The intestinal flora is also known as the ‘second genome’ of the human body. To study the functional interactions between AdPs and gut microbiota, we extracted AdPs using water extraction. After a series of treatments, including degreasing, alcohol precipitation, protein decolorization and purification by cellulose column, 200 mg/kg of purified AdPs were administered daily to 5 weeks old Kunming (KM) mice for 21 days. Microbial composition was evaluated in fecal samples using high-throughput sequencing. Our results revealed that AdPs affected the composition and structure of gut microbiota and can potentially regulate the intestinal flora as prebiotics.

Keywords:

• High throughput sequencing
• polysaccharides
• gut microbiota
• Angelica dahurica

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Data availability

The raw 16S rRNA sequences supporting the results of this study are available in the GenBank Database under the accession number PRJNA770123.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Scientific Research Foundation for Talent Introduction of Southwest Medical University (0903-00040031), the Applied Basic Research Cooperation Project of Luzhou Government-Southwest Medical University (2020LZXNYDJ28).