Analysis of the effect of hyaluronic acid on intestinal flora and its metabolites in diabetic mice via high-throughput sequencing and nontargeted metabolomics

Hyaluronic acid (HA) exhibits various physiological activities. To evaluate the effects of HA on intestinal microbiota and metabolites in diabetes mellitus in type 2 diabetic mouse, 16S rRNA sequencing and nontargeted metabolomics techniques were used. Results showed that 100 mg/kg HA increased the ratio of Bacteroides/Firmicutes to 0.74 and enriched Bacteroides and Alistipes, with abundance values of 6.16 % and 3.06 %, respectively. HA at 200 mg/kg increased the abundance of Lactobacillus by 38.42 %. Metabolomic results showed that the 100 and 200 mg/kg HA groups produced 54 and 77 differential metabolites relative to the model group, respectively. They were enriched in the steroid hormone synthesis pathway. These steroid hormones were found to be positively correlated with Oscillospira, Ruminococcus, Coprococcus, and Erysipelotrichaceae_Clostridium. This study preliminarily revealed the effects of HA on intestinal microbiota and its metabolites in diabetes mellitus, which can provide ideas and directions for the HA functional research of HA.