Structural characteristics of locust bean gum hydrolysate and its alleviating effect on dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis.

BACKGROUND

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory lesion of the colon from various causes. As current therapeutic drugs have adverse effects on patients with UC, there is a growing demand for alternative medicines from natural and functional foods. Locust bean gum, as a dietary fiber, has a variety of physiological effects.

METHODS

In the present study, locust bean gum hydrolysate (LBGH) was obtained from the acid hydrolysis of locust bean gum. The structure of LBGH was characterized by thin-layer chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry (MS)/MS analysis. And we investigated the therapeutic effect of LBGH on a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis.

RESULTS

It was observed that the LBGH consisted of a mixture of monosaccharides and oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization (DP) 2-7. LBGH treatment dramatically alleviated colonic pathological damage, suppressed the overproduction of pro-inflammatory factors and the activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), increased the mRNA expression of tight junction proteins, and increased the abundance of probiotics such as and in the gut.

CONCLUSION

There is a correlation between these mitigating effects on inflammation and the treatment of LBGH. Therefore, LBGH has tremendous potential in the treatment of colitis.