Korean ginseng modulates the ileal microbiota and mucin gene expression in the growing rat

The study was conducted to investigate whether oral administration of Korean ginseng powders can modulate gut microbiota as well as intestinal mucin production at the translational and transcriptional levels in the ileum of the growing rat. Thirty individually caged Sprague-Dawley male rats were allocated to three groups (n = 10) and fed for 21 days either a basal control diet or one of the two treatment diets each containing white or red Korean ginseng (WG or RG) powder. Bacterial DNA was extracted from ileal digesta and subjected to quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) using primers for total bacteria, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria, Escherichia coli, Bacteroides, and Clostridium strains. The qPCR results showed that consumption of WG or RG powder significantly increased the number of total bacteria and Lactobacillus strains compared to the control group. Consumption of WG powder increased mRNA expression of the Muc2 gene in the small intestine compared to the control group. There was no effect of WG or RG on the small intestinal digesta mucin content. Correlation analysis showed that expression of the Muc2 gene was significantly associated with the number of total bacteria (r = 0.52, P < 0.05) and Lactobacillus strains (r = 0.53, P < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, the number of Lactobacillus strains was significantly correlated with the number of total bacteria (r = 0.87, P < 0.05). Consumption of the WG powder modulated the intestinal ecosystem of the growing rat and intestinal mucin gene expression.