Interactions between the intestine’s microbial flora and the human host are important in maintaining intestinal health as well as the pathophysiology of a wide range of illnesses, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea, Clostridium difficile infection, and inflammatory bowel disease. Antibiotics can alter the intestinal microbiome, resulting in diarrhea and other negative effects, whereas prebiotics can provide health advantages by favorable effects on the microbiome. For a study, the researchers aimed to compare the effects of the prebiotic polysaccharopeptide from Trametes Versicolor on the human gut microbiome to those of the antibiotic amoxicillin. PSP, amoxicillin, or no therapy was given to 24 healthy participants (control). Stool specimens from each participant in the active treatment groups were studied 7 times over the course of 8 weeks using bTEFAP microbial ecology methods, and controls were analyzed 3 times. The protocol was completed by 22 of the 24 individuals. PSP’s activity as a prebiotic resulted in evident and consistent microbial alterations. The researchers found considerable microbial clustering among participants, despite the diversity of the human microbiome. Microbiomes at the start of the study tended to stay steady and overshadow the treatment effects. Treatment with amoxicillin resulted in significant alterations in the microbiome, most notably an increase in Escherichia/Shigella. Antibiotic-related alterations lasted until the study’s conclusion, 42 days after antibiotic treatment finished. Healthy people’s microbiomes were diverse, but they were rather stable throughout time. The antibiotic amoxicillin disrupted the microbiome, and it took several weeks to recover. PSP from T. Versicolor works as a prebiotic, influencing the composition of the human gut microbiome.
Link:www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4161/gmic.29558
