Long-Term Blackcurrant Supplementation Modified Gut Microbiome Profiles in Mice in an Age-Dependent Manner: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that blackcurrant (BC) anthocyanins have promising health benefits, possibly through regulating gut microbiome. Three- and eighteen-month old female mice were fed standard mouse diets for 4 months, each with or without BC (1% w/w) supplementation (n = 3 in each treatment group, 12 in total). We then assessed gut microbiome profiles using 16S sequencing of their feces. Old mice had a less diverse microbiome community compared to young mice and there was a remarkable age-related difference in microbiome composition in the beta diversity analysis. BC supplementation did not significantly affect alpha or beta diversity. The relative abundance of several phyla, including Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Tenericutes, was lower in old mice. BC downregulated Firmicutes abundance in young mice and upregulated Bacteroidetes in both age groups, leading to a decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. There were age-specific differences in the effect of BC supplementation on the microbiome. Twenty-four operational taxonomic units showed a significant interaction between age and BC supplementation (p < 0.01), which suggests that the ecosystem and the host health status affect the functions and efficiency of BC intake. These results indicate that BC supplementation favorably modulates gut microbiome, but there are distinct age-specific differences. Studies with human hosts are needed to better understand BC’s regulatory effects on the gut microbiome.

Effects of Anthocyanin on Intestinal Health: A Systematic Review

“…Most of them were conducted in China ( n = 9) [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] or the United States of America (U.S.A.) ( n = 5) [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Regarding the animal model used in the studies, 15 were performed with mice [ 17 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], 11 with rats [ 18 , 19 , 23 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ] and only 1 with rabbits [ 43 ]. Most studies used male animals ( n = 24) [ 17 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ,…”

“…Regarding the animal model used in the studies, 15 were performed with mice [ 17 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], 11 with rats [ 18 , 19 , 23 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ] and only 1 with rabbits [ 43 ]. Most studies used male animals ( n = 24) [ 17 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], but two used female animals [ 1...…”

“…Most studies used male animals ( n = 24) [ 17 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], but two used female animals [ 19 , 30 ], and only one study used both male and female animals [ 32 ]. Interesting, six studies did not describe animals’ initial weight [ 19 , 21 , 28 , 30 , 32 , 38 ]. The age of the animals ranged from 3 to 72 weeks, although five studies did not mention this information [ 17 , 27 , 35 , 36 , 39 ].…”

“…The anthocyanin intervention varied by the source that was used. In 20 studies, diverse fruits were offered in the form of extract ( n = 12) [ 17 , 19 , 25 , 30 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 40 , 41 , 43 ], or as a powder ( n = 8) [ 22 , 26 , 28 , 31 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 42 ]. The fruits used as an anthocyanin source were chokeberry, Kamchatka berry, apple, blackcurrant, bilberry, blueberry, black raspberry, red cabbage, grape, berry juçara, jabuticaba, purple carrot, black gojy berry and black rice.…”

Use of bacteria community analysis to distinguish groundwater recharge sources to shallow wells

“…Water DNA Kit following the manufacturer's protocol. Bacterial 16S rRNA genes in the DNA extracts were amplified via 35 cycles of PCR, quantified, normalized, pooled, cleaned, and sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform (Caporaso et al, 2012) following the protocol as described in Cao et al (2020).…”