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Portal hypertension (PH) is a potentially life-threatening condition. We investigated the effects of indole and dietary tryptophan, a substrate for gut bacterial production of indole, on portal blood pressure (PBP), portal blood flow (PBF), and arterial blood pressure (ABP) in Sprague-Dawley rats (SD) and SD with PH induced by liver cirrhosis (SD-PH). Hemodynamics were recorded in anesthetized male 28-wk-old SD and SD-PH at baseline and after the administration of either a vehicle or indole into the colon. Blood levels of tryptophan and its bacterial metabolites were evaluated using chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Indole at lower doses increased PBP and PBF. Indole at higher doses produced a transient increase in PBP, which was accompanied by a decrease in ABP. Portal blood levels of indole, indole-3-propionic, indole-3-lactic, and indole-3-acetic acids were higher in SD-PH, suggesting an increased gut-blood barrier permeability. Rats on a tryptophan-rich diet showed a significantly higher PBP and portal blood level of indoles than rats on a tryptophan-free diet. In conclusion, a tryptophan-rich diet and intracolonic indole increase PBP and portal blood level of indole. Rats with PH show an increased penetration of indoles from the colon to the circulation. Intracolonic indole production may be of therapeutic importance in PH.

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BACKGROUND The ability of Coriolus versicolor medicinal mushroom to accumulate and transform selenium from selenourea and sodium selenite into an organic form – l‐selenomethionine – during growth in liquid medium is examined in this paper. Additionally, the impact of supplementation on biological activity of the selenated mushroom methanol extracts, as well as their chemical composition, is studied. RESULTS Selenium accumulation was more efficient with sodium selenite application, but biomass yield was significantly lower (1.89 g DW L−1) compared to samples enriched with selenourea (4.48 g DW L−1). Mushroom sample obtained after growing in liquid medium with selenourea had significantly higher l‐selenomethionine content compared to the sample grown in medium with sodium selenite. Selenium‐enriched methanol extracts of C. versicolor mushroom showed improved antimicrobial and antioxidant activities compared to non‐enriched extract. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that C. versicolor mushroom cultivated in liquid culture enriched with selenourea can be used for the production of novel food supplements with improved selenium bioavailability. More than 30% of total accumulated selenium from selenourea is transformed into l‐selenomethionine. Differences in biological activity of methanol extracts can be explained not only by different selenium content but also by the differences in chemical composition of extracts. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry