Department of Health Management Center, Henan Provincial People's Hospital; People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China.
Nutrition. 2022 Nov-Dec;103-104:111802. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2022.111802. Epub 2022 Jul 22.
Functional constipation is a gastrointestinal disorder that affects millions of people and is correlated with gut microbiome dysbiosis. The currently available treatments are ineffective; therefore, novel treatment schemes targeting the gut microbiome are desired. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of yogurt supplemented with seven probiotic strains and six types of dietary fibers on functional constipation.
In the mouse study, mice with induced constipation were administered the yogurt once a day for 1 wk, with fecal parameters and intestinal transit rate measured. In the clinical study, participants with constipation (N = 86) were given the yogurt once daily (200 g) for 4 wk. Fecal and blood samples along with Patient Assessment of Constipation-symptoms and Patient Assessment of Constipation-Quality of Life Scale questionnaires were collected to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the yogurt. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed to analyze fecal samples of both mice and humans.
We found that constipated mice had different gut microbiomes compared with those in healthy controls; yogurt treatment significantly relieved constipation-related symptoms and resulted in shifts in the microbiome. Yogurt also relieved symptoms of antibiotic-induced constipation in mice and restored the gut microbiome to a certain extent. In the clinical trial with 86 patients, yogurt administration significantly improved constipation symptoms and showed no serious adverse effects (was generally considered safe). However, subsequent metagenomic profiling of the gut microbiome did not reveal significant changes in the microbial composition, in contrast to the results in mice. We hypothesize that the differences in dosage between mice and humans may attribute to such discrepancies, and microbiome changes may not be necessary for improvements of constipation symptoms in humans.
Results from this study showed that yogurt can potentially be used for the treatment of constipation.
功能性便秘是一种影响数百万人的胃肠道疾病，与肠道微生物失调有关。目前可用的治疗方法无效；因此，需要针对肠道微生物组的新型治疗方案。本研究旨在评估添加七种益生菌菌株和六种膳食纤维的酸奶对功能性便秘的影响。
在小鼠研究中，每天给患有便秘的小鼠喂食一次酸奶，持续 1 周，测量粪便参数和肠道转运率。在临床研究中，给予便秘患者（N=86）每天一次酸奶（200g），持续 4 周。收集粪便和血液样本以及便秘症状患者评估问卷和便秘生活质量量表问卷，以评估酸奶的安全性和疗效。对粪便样本进行 shotgun 宏基因组测序，分析小鼠和人类的粪便样本。
我们发现，与健康对照组相比，便秘小鼠的肠道微生物组存在差异；酸奶治疗可显著缓解便秘相关症状，并导致微生物组发生变化。酸奶还可缓解小鼠抗生素诱导的便秘症状，并在一定程度上恢复肠道微生物组。在 86 名患者的临床研究中，酸奶的使用显著改善了便秘症状，且无严重不良事件（一般认为是安全的）。然而，随后对肠道微生物组的宏基因组分析并未显示微生物组成发生显著变化，与小鼠的结果相反。我们假设，小鼠和人类之间的剂量差异可能导致了这种差异，并且微生物组的变化可能不是人类便秘症状改善所必需的。
本研究结果表明，酸奶可能可用于治疗便秘。
