Tuber indicum polysaccharide relieves fatigue by regulating gut microbiota in mice

Abstract Excessive exercise-induced fatigue has become a serious health issue and can cause gut dysbiosis. Tuber indicum (T. indicum) polysaccharide can act as prebiotics to regulate gut microbiota and this effect may play an important role in relieving fatigue. Therefore, T. indicum polysaccharide was prepared and mainly consisted of glucose linked with β-glycosidic bonds. Based on a mouse model of exhaustive swimming-induced fatigue, such polysaccharide decreased blood lactic acid content and increased ATPase activity of fatigue mice, which was accompanied by improved short chain fatty acids concentration and gut integrity. Additionally, T. indicum polysaccharide ameliorated gut dysbiosis by decreasing the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes and increasing Bacteroides in fatigue mice. Spearman's correlation analysis suggested that T. indicum polysaccharide-modulated microbiota was significantly correlated with its anti-fatigue effect. These findings suggested the potential of T. indicum polysaccharide as prebiotics, to protect mice against excessive exercise-induced fatigue by regulating gut microbiota.