Recent progress of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on intestinal microbiota, microbial metabolites and health: a review

Abstract

Intestinal microbiota is symbiotically associated with host health, learning about the characteristics of microbiota and the factors that modulate it could assist in developing strategies to promote human health and prevent diseases. Polysaccharides from Lycium barbarum (LBPs) are found beneficial for enhancing the activity of gut microbiota, as a potential prebiotic, which not only participates in improving body immunity, obesity, hyperlipidemia and systemic inflammation induced by oxidative stress, but also plays a magnificent role in regulating intestinal microenvironment and improving host health and target intestinal effects via its biological activities, as well as gut microbiota and metabolites. To highlight the internal relationship between intestinal microbiota and LBPs, this review focuses on the latest advances in LBPs on the intestinal microbiota, metabolites, immune regulation, intestinal barrier protection, microbiota-gut-brain axis and host health. Moreover, the preparation, structure, bioactivity and modification of LBPs were also discussed. This review may offer new perspective on LBPs improving health of gut and host via intestinal microbiota, and provide useful guidelines for the application of LBPs in the food industry.

Keywords:

• Health
• interaction
• intestinal microbiota
• Lycium barbarum polysaccharides
• microbiota-gut-brain axis
• structure

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Key R & D Program of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (2022BBF03016); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072354); Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province, China (KYCX21_3397); Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) and the Key Technology R & D Program of Zhenjiang (No. SH2019011).