Dose-response effect of berberine on bile acid profile and gut microbiota in mice

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Research Article

Ying Guo¹  WeiHua Huang²  Felcy Pavithra Selwyn³  YouCai Zhang³  Curtis D. Klaassen⁴ 

[1] Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410008, Changsha, People’s Republic of China;University of Kansas Medical Center, 66160, Kansas City, KS, USA;Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Central South University, 410078, Changsha, People’s Republic of China;Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Central South University, 410078, Changsha, People’s Republic of China;University of Kansas Medical Center, 66160, Kansas City, KS, USA;University of Kansas Medical Center, 66160, Kansas City, KS, USA;2617 W 112th Street, 66211, Leawood, KS, USA;

关键词: Berberine;    Bile acids;    Gut Microbiota;    Mice;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12906-016-1367-7

 received in 2016-04-14, accepted in 2016-09-29,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBerberine (BBR) is a traditional antimicrobial herbal medicine. Recently, BBR has gained popularity as a supplement to lower blood lipids, cholesterol and glucose. Bile acids (BAs) are known to regulate blood levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose and energy homeostasis, and gut flora play an important role in BA metabolism. However, whether BBR alters BAs metabolism or dose-response effect of BBR on gut flora is unknown.MethodsIn this study, the effects of various doses of BBR on the concentrations of BAs in liver and serum of male C57BL/6 mice were determined by UPLC-MS/MS, and the expression of BA-related genes, as well as the amount of 32 of the most abundant gut bacterial species in the terminal ileum and large intestine of male C57BL/6 mice were quantified by RT-PCR and Quantigene 2.0 Reagent System, respectively.ResultsUnconjugated BAs and total BAs were significantly altered by BBR in serum but not in liver. Increased primary BAs (βMCA, TβMCA and TUDCA) and decreased secondary BAs (DCA, LCA and the T-conjugates) were observed in livers and serum of mice fed BBR. The expression of BA-synthetic enzymes (Cyp7a1 and 8b1) and uptake transporter (Ntcp) increased 39-400 % in liver of mice fed the higher doses of BBR, whereas nuclear receptors and efflux transporters were not markedly altered. In addition, Bacteroides were enriched in the terminal ileum and large bowel of mice treated with BBR.ConclusionThe present study indicated that various doses of BBR have effects on BA metabolism and related genes as well as intestinal flora, which provides insight into many pathways of BBR effects.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016