Effects of Lacidophilin Tablets, Yogurt, and Bifid Triple Viable Capsules on the Gut Microbiota of Mice with Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

Abstract

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is a common morbidity caused by antibiotic use and is characterized by the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Several clinical trials have shown that probiotics can prevent AAD. This study aimed at investigating the effects of Lacidophilin tablets (LB), yogurt (YG), and bifid triple viable capsules (BT) on the gut microbiota of mice with AAD. Mice with diarrhea were randomly allocated to treatment groups or the control group and were treated with either LB, YG, BT, or vehicle control. The body weight, diarrhea scores, cecum index, and cecal length were determined. Fecal samples of all mice were analyzed using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that LB, YG, and BT significantly decreased the diarrhea scores and inhibited increases in the cecum index and cecal length induced by AAD. In addition, they significantly changed the composition and richness of the gut microbiota. Specifically, they increased the abundance of the phylum Firmicutes and decreased the abundance of the phyla Bacteroidetes and the family Bacteroidaceae. Treatment with LB and YG also decreased the abundance of the phylum Proteobacteria and only LB could mediate the reduced levels of Lactobacillaceae in AAD mice. At the genus level, YG and BT treatment decreased the abundance of Bacteroides or Parasutterella. To our surprise, only LB treatment dramatically increased the abundance of Lactobacillus and decreased that of potential pathogens, such as Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Parasutterella, to almost normal values. Our findings indicate that LB, YG, and BT ameliorated diarrhea by regulating the composition and structure of the gut microbiota and that LB plays an important role in regulating the gut microbiota.

Figure 1

Effect of LB, YG, and BT on diarrhea score (a), body weight (b), cecum index, (c) and cecal length (d) of mice (n = 8). NC, normal group; MC, model group; LB, Lacidophilin tablet group; YG, yogurt group; BT, bifid triple viable capsule group. Values are represented as the mean ± SD. ^∗p < 0.05 compared with the normal group, and ^#p < 0.05 compared with the model group.

Figure 2

Changes in the gut microbiota diversity of different groups. Alpha diversity indices including Shannon, Simpson, ACE, and Chao1 indices (a); (b) rank-abundance curve; (c) PCA score plot of the microbiota in the different groups. NC, normal group; MC, model group; LB, Lacidophilin tablet group; YG, yogurt group; BT, bifid triple viable capsule group. Values are represented as the mean ± SD. ^∗p < 0.05 compared with the normal group, and ^#p < 0.05 compared with the model group.

Figure 3

The composition of gut microbiota in different groups. (a) Phylum level; (b) main differences in compositions at the phylum level; (c) family level; (d) main differences in compositions at the family level; (e) genera level; (f) main differences in compositions at the genus level. NC, normal group; MC, model group; LB, Lacidophilin tablet group; YG, yogurt group; BT, bifid triple viable capsule group. Values are expressed as the mean ± SD. ^∗p < 0.05 compared with the normal group; ^#p < 0.05 compared with the model group.

Figure 4

COG function classification analysis of different groups. The relative abundance was calculated using the average abundances via PICRUSt. NC, normal group; MC, model group; LB, Lacidophilin tablet group; YG, yogurt group; BT, bifid triple viable capsule group.