Salecan confers anti-inflammatory effects in liver injury via regulating gut microbiota and its metabolites

Salecan, a natural beta-glucan and one of the novel food ingredients approved in China, has been shown a variety of positive health effects, yet the mechanism of liver injury remains poorly understood. In addition, beta-glucan could induce the shifts in gut microbiota, however, whether modulation of gut microbiota by beta-glucan is associated with their positive health effects remain elusive. Here, the anti-inflammatory effects and the underlying mechanism of Salecan supplementation in CCl4-induced liver injury were investigated. After 8 weeks of treatment, we observed that Salecan alleviated liver injury by regulating inflammatory response and M2 macrophage polarization. In addition, Salecan treatment modulated the composition of gut microbiota and antibiotic cocktail treatment indicated that the hepatoprotective effect of Salecan was dependent on the gut microbiota. Fecal microbiota transplantation was used to further verify the mechanism, and we confirmed that microbial colonization partially alleviated liver injury. Besides, microbiota-derived metabolites of Salecan also contributed to the hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory effect of Salecan against liver injury. These findings supported that Salecan intervention attenuated liver injury by regulating gut microbiota and its metabolites.

Automated summary

This study investigated the anti-inflammatory effects and underlying mechanism of Salecan supplementation in CCl4-induced liver injury. The results showed that Salecan alleviated liver injury through regulating inflammatory response and M2 macrophage polarization. Moreover, Salecan modulated gut microbiota composition and its metabolites played a part in the hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects against liver injury. These findings supported the potential of Salecan intervention for attenuating liver injury.