Abstract:

To investigate the effects of different doses of sea moth water extracts on systemic low-grade inflammation induced by capsaicin-induced intestinal flora disorder in mice, in this study, thirty male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into blank control group, capsaicin-induced inflammation model group, fish oil control group, and sea moth water extract low-dose (0.2 g·kg^-1·d^-1), medium-dose (0.4 g·kg^-1·d^-1) and high-dose groups (0.6 g·kg^-1·d^-1). The contents of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in serum of mice were determined by enzyme-linked immunoassay and limulus reagent method, respectively. 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics methods were used to investigate the changes of intestinal flora in mouse feces. Mass fraction of short chain fat acids (SCFAs) in mouse feces were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). After the intervention of capsaicin, the mass concentration of the inflammatory factor TNF-α in the serum of mice was about twice that of the blank group, and the low-grade inflammation model of the mouse system was successfully established. The results showed that compared with the model group, the contents of inflammatory factors and LPS of the model mice were restored after the intervention with water extract of sea moth; the abundance of probiotic genera in feces such as Lactobacillus and Bacteroides increased significantly, the abundance of harmful bacteria genera such as Oligotrophomonas and Corynebacterium decreased significantly, and the levels of all bacteria genera basically recovered to the level of blank group; the mass fraction of total SCFAs was significantly increased and tended to the level of blank group, single SCFAs such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid levels were basically restored to normal levels. The water extract of sea moth can regulate the intestinal flora disorder of mice, restore the intestinal SCFAs mass fraction of mice, prevent LPS from entering the blood, inhibit the inflammatory response, and alleviate the systemic low-grade inflammation.

Key words: systemic low-grade inflammation, capsaicin, sea moth water extract, intestinal flora, short chain fat acids (SCFAs)