Intestinal microbiota modulation is becoming an interesting approach to manage
inflammatory bowel disease and can be achieved by the administration of
prebiotics. Previous studies showed the intestinal anti-inflammatory effects of the
prebiotic lactulose. The aim of the present study was to test the preventative effects of
oligosaccharides derived from
lactulose with
prebiotic properties (OsLu) in the
trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid model of rat
colitis and compare them with those of
lactulose. Both treatments modified bacterial profile in intestinal contents, increasing the bifidobacteria and lactobacilli counts and up-regulating the production of
short-chain fatty acids, although OsLu generated a larger amount. OsLu also inhibited to a greater extent different pro-inflammatory markers such as
interleukins (IL) 1, 6, 12, and 23 and
chemokines (MCP-1 and CINC-1). However, both
prebiotics equally restored colonic epithelial integrity, evaluated both with a histological score (OsLu, 9.8 ± 2.2; and
lactulose, 12.1 ± 2.1, vs colitic control, 27.3 ± 3.3) and by measuring several key
proteins of the mucosal barrier (MUC-2, MUC-3, and TTF-3). OsLu effect was also associated with an inhibition of iNOS expression and a reduction of Th17 cell activity in the inflamed tissue that facilitated the intestinal mucosa barrier recovery. In conclusion, OsLu showed a better anti-inflammatory profile than
lactulose in this model of experimental
colitis.