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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1555734
Effect and mechanism of Plantaginis Semen polysaccharides on intestinal microecology in rats with hyperuricemia
Provisionally accepted- 1 Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China
- 2 Jiamusi Disease Prevention and Control Center, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, China
Hyperuricemia (HUA) is defined as groups of metabolic disorders characterized by abnormalities in purine metabolism, which causes persistent elevation of uric acid in the bloodstream. This condition is significantly associated with the progression of various diseases. Asymptomatic hyperuricemia frequently occurs alongside inflammatory responses and disturbances in intestinal microbiota.Plantaginis Semen polysaccharides (PSP) as plant polysaccharides has been shown to improve HUA.This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of PSP on HUA rats. A model of HUA was established in rats by gavage of adenine (AD) and potassium oxonate (PO), which was treated with PSP or allopurinol (AL) for 5 weeks. The biological effects of PSP were systematically evaluated through various experiments such as blood biochemistry analysis, histopathological examination, Western blot analysis, and 16S rRNA sequencing. It was observed that PSP strongly lowered serum uric acid (UA) concentrations and mitigated renal impairment by decreasing serum levels of xanthine oxidase (XOD) and adenosine deaminase (ADA), modulating the expression level of renal glucose transporter protein 9 (GLUT9), urate transporter 1 (URAT1), ATP-binding cassette superfamily member 2 (ABCG2), and organic anion transporter 1 (OAT1). Furthermore, PSP significantly reduced the concentration of pro-inflammatory markers, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), and cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-1 (caspase-1), highlighting its anti-inflammatory effects. Moreover, PSP specifically reshaped the gut microbiota of hyperuricemic rats: it regulated the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroides (F/B), inhibited the proliferation of Proteus, enhanced the abundance of short-chain fatty acidproducing bacteria (Romboutsia, Clostridium_sensu_stricto) and Probiotic Lactobacillus, while reducing pro-inflammatory bacteria (Turicibacter); based on lefse analysis, PSP particularly enriched Chryseomicrobium, Chryseobacterium, and other uric acid metabolism functional bacteria, which is significantly different from the dominant pattern of Mycobacterium in allopurinol treatment. In summary, this study indicates that PSP can treat hyperuricemic rats.
Keywords: Hyperuricemia, Plantaginis Semen polysaccharides, Intestinal microecology, Uric Acid, Kidney
Received: 07 Jan 2025; Accepted: 18 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Fu and Qiu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hongbin Qiu, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China
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