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Zheng X, Xia C, Liu M, Wu H, Yan J, Zhang Z, Huang Y, Gu Q, Li P. Role of folic acid in regulating gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids based on an in vitro fermentation model. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 108:40. [PMID: 38175236 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12825-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Folic acid deficiency is common worldwide and is linked to an imbalance in gut microbiota. However, based on model animals used to study the utilization of folic acid by gut microbes, there are challenges of reproducibility and individual differences. In this study, an in vitro fecal slurry culture model of folic acid deficiency was established to investigate the effects of supplementation with 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF) and non-reduced folic acid (FA) on the modulation of gut microbiota. 16S rRNA sequencing results revealed that both FA (29.7%) and MTHF (27.9%) supplementation significantly reduced the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes compared with control case (34.3%). MTHF supplementation significantly improved the relative abundance of Firmicutes by 4.49%. Notably, compared with the control case, FA and MTHF supplementation promoted an increase in fecal levels of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Pediococcus. Short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) analysis showed that folic acid supplementation decreased acetate levels and increased fermentative production of isobutyric acid. The in vitro fecal slurry culture model developed in this study can be utilized as a model of folic acid deficiency in humans to study the gut microbiota and demonstrate that exogenous folic acid affects the composition of the gut microbiota and the level of SCFAs. KEY POINTS: • Establishment of folic acid deficiency in an in vitro culture model. • Folic acid supplementation regulates intestinal microbes and SCFAs. • Connections between microbes and SCFAs after adding folic acid are built.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaogu Zheng
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenlan Xia
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China
| | - Manman Liu
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongchen Wu
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiaqian Yan
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China
| | - Zihao Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingjie Huang
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China
| | - Qing Gu
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Li
- Key Laboratory for Food Microbial Technology of Zhejiang Province, College of Food Science and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, People's Republic of China.
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