Effect of polysaccharides from Dictyophora indusiata on regulating gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids in mice

The gut microbiota, as a special organ, plays a vital role in the health of host and has many functions. Prebiotics are an important group of substances that can promote gut health by regulating the gut microbiota. Polysaccharides are widely distributed in nature with a wide range of biological activities and mushroom-derived polysaccharides have powerful prebiotic potential. Dictyophora indusiata, a saprophytic fungus of the Phallaceae, is known as the “queen of mushrooms” for its attractive appearance and high nutritional value. Modern pharmacology has shown that D. indusiata polysaccharides have various pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-oxidant and immunomodulatory activities. In our study, we extracted water-soluble and water-insoluble polysaccharides from D. indusiata to act on the mice gut microbiota, and analyzed the data using 16SrRNA high-throughput sequencing and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-based targeted metabolomics. The results showed that both water-soluble and water-insoluble polysaccharides increased intestinal microbial diversity, as well water-insoluble polysaccharides significantly increased the relative abundance of the Lactobacillus and the concentration of SCFAs. In conclusion, D. indusiata polysaccharides have the function of regulating gut microbiota, promoting the generation of SCFAs, and provided us a new insight for the future development of traditional edible mushroom polysaccharides as prebiotic products.