AUTHOR=Fu Qiang , Zhou Siyi , Yu Mengting , Lu Yang , He Genhe , Huang Xiaoliu , Huang Yushan 

TITLE=Portulaca oleracea Polysaccharides Modulate Intestinal Microflora in Aged Rats in vitro

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841397

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.841397

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>To explore the effect of <italic>Portulaca oleracea</italic> polysaccharides (POP) in regulating intestinal microflora in aged rats <italic>in vitro</italic>, its intestinal microbial composition was analyzed by 16 S rDNA high-throughput sequencing, and the level of short-chain fatty acids in fermentation broth was determined by LC-MS. POP significantly upregulated the relative abundance of <italic>Lactobacillus</italic>, <italic>Eggerthella</italic>, and <italic>Paraprevotella</italic> and significantly downregulated <italic>Escherichia_Shigella</italic>, <italic>Bacteroides</italic>, and <italic>Eubacterium nodatum</italic> groups. The pH value and ammonia nitrogen level decreased significantly in the POP-treated group, resulting in a more short-chain fatty acid consumption which changed the acid–base environment of the fermentation broth. In conclusion, POP is beneficial to aged rats because it can regulate intestinal flora, promote the growth of probiotics, and inhibit the reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.</p>