The polysaccharides from the fruits of Lycium barbarum L. confer anti-diabetic effect by regulating gut microbiota and intestinal barrier.

The antidiabetic effect and potential mechanisms of the polysaccharides from the fruits of Lycium barbarum L. (LBPs) by the mouse model of high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetes were investigated. Six-week oral administration of LBPs (200 mg/kg/day) resulted in improvement in the levels of fasting blood glucose (13.51% decrease) and glycated hemoglobin and β-cell function in diabetic mice, and simultaneously induced a 3.3-fold increment in one taxon belonging to genus Allobaculum in gut bacterial community. The experiments of fecal microbiota transplantation and antibiotics treatment confirmed that the LBPs-mediated gut microbiota participated in the glycemic control of the diabetes management. Moreover, LBPs intervention guarded the intestinal barrier function via upregulating the expression of zonula occludens 1 both in vivo (analyzing the gut permeability in diabetic mice) and in vitro (using intestinal-like Caco-2/RAW264.7 cells co-culture inflammation model). Collectively, our study showed that LBPs could confer anti-diabetic effect through modifying gut microbiota and intestinal barrier.