Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 657-8501, Japan.
Sumitomo Chemical, Co., Ltd., 27-1 Shinkawa 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-8260, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 25;11(1):4580. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-84167-z.
Daikenchuto (DKT) is a Japanese traditional herbal (Kampo) medicine containing ginseng, processed ginger, and Japanese or Chinese pepper. We aimed to determine how DKT affects human colonic microbiota. An in vitro microbiota model was established using fecal inocula collected from nine healthy volunteers, and each model was found to retain operational taxonomic units similar to the ones in the original human fecal samples. DKT was added to the in vitro microbiota model culture at a concentration of 0.5% by weight. Next-generation sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene revealed a significant increase in the relative abundance of bacteria related to the Bifidobacterium genus in the model after incubation with DKT. In pure cultures, DKT significantly promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium adolescentis, but not that of Fusobacterium nucleatum or Escherichia coli. Additionally, in pure cultures, B. adolescentis transformed ginsenoside Rc to Rd, which was then probably utilized for its growth. Our study reveals the in vitro bifidogenic effect of DKT that likely contributes to its beneficial effects on the human colon.
大建中汤（DKT）是一种日本传统草药（汉方）药物，含有人参、炮制姜和日本胡椒或中国胡椒。我们旨在确定 DKT 如何影响人类结肠微生物群。使用从 9 名健康志愿者收集的粪便接种物建立体外微生物群模型，并且每个模型被发现保留与原始人类粪便样品中的操作分类单位相似的操作分类单位。将 DKT 以 0.5%重量的浓度添加到体外微生物群模型培养物中。细菌 16S rRNA 基因的下一代测序显示，在与 DKT 孵育后，与双歧杆菌属相关的细菌的相对丰度显著增加。在纯培养物中，DKT 显著促进了青春双歧杆菌的生长，但不促进核梭杆菌或大肠杆菌的生长。此外，在纯培养物中，双歧杆菌将人参皂苷 Rc 转化为 Rd，然后可能将其用于生长。我们的研究揭示了 DKT 的体外双歧杆菌增殖作用，这可能有助于其对人类结肠的有益作用。
