Phytonutrient diet supplementation promotes beneficial Clostridia species and intestinal mucus secretion resulting in protection against enteric infection

Abstract

Plant extracts, or phytonutrients, are used in traditional medicine practices as supplements to enhance the immune system and gain resistance to various infectious diseases and are used in animal production as health promoting feed additives. To date, there are no studies that have assessed their mechanism of action and ability to alter mucosal immune responses in the intestine. We characterized the immunomodulatory function of six phytonutrients: anethol, carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, capsicum oleoresin and garlic extract. Mice were treated with each phytonutrient to assess changes to colonic gene expression and mucus production. All six phytonutrients showed variable changes in expression of innate immune genes in the colon. However only eugenol stimulated production of the inner mucus layer, a key mucosal barrier to microbes. The mechanism by which eugenol causes mucus layer thickening likely involves microbial stimulation as analysis of the intestinal microbiota composition showed eugenol treatment led to an increase in abundance of specific families within the Clostridiales order. Further, eugenol treatment confers colonization resistance to the enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. These results suggest that eugenol acts to strengthen the mucosal barrier by increasing the thickness of the inner mucus layer, which protects against invading pathogens and disease.

A Diet-Sensitive Commensal Lactobacillus Strain Mediates TLR7-Dependent Systemic Autoimmunity

“…Besides inhibiting the abundance of lupus-related pathobionts, RS also increased bacterial taxa capable of fermenting fiber into SCFAs; loss of their abundance have been linked to disease (De Filippo et al, 2010; Koh et al, 2016; Macia et al, 2015; Walker et al, 2011). Interestingly, bacteria from the order Clostridiales, which are known to promote mucus thickening (Wlodarska et al, 2015), were reduced in Lactobacillus-colonized SLE patients and lupus-prone mice. RS feeding of mice increased this order not only in fecal but also in cecal microbiomes.…”

Progress on the Antimicrobial Activity Research of Clove Oil and Eugenol in the Food Antisepsis Field

“…Paracasei (Gutiérrez, Morán, Martínez‐Blanco, Ferrero, & Rodríguez‐Aparicio, ). However, in the colon of mice, eugenol treatment leads to an increase in abundance of specific families within the Clostridiales order, and confers colonization resistance to the enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium , which is benefit to strengthen the mucosal barrier and protect against invading pathogens and disease (Wlodarska, Willing, Bravo, & Finlay, ) .It should be noted that the above cytotoxicity of clove oil and eugenol is obtained from in vitro or animal study, and there is no report on the damage of them on human body, which should be given further research.…”

Interactions between the microbiota and pathogenic bacteria in the gut

“…Dietary choices have been shown to affect colonization by enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) serotype O157:H7 and the severity and length of its resulting disease 18 , and supplementation of the diet with phytonutrients promotes the expansion of beneficial Clostridia species that protect mice from colonization by C. rodentium 19 .…”