Taxifolin is a
bioflavonoid which has been used to treat
Inflammatory Bowel Disease. However,
taxifolin on DSS-induced
colitis and gut health is still unclear. Here, we studied the effect of
taxifolin on DSS-induced intestinal
mucositis in mice. We measured the degree of intestinal mucosal injury and inflammatory response in DSS treated mice with or without
taxifolin administration and studied the changes of fecal metabolites and intestinal microflora using
16S rRNA. The mechanism was further explored by
fecal microbiota transplantation. The results showed that the
weight loss and
diarrhea score of the mice treated with
taxifolin decreased in DSS-induced mice and longer colon length was displayed after
taxifolin supplementation. Meanwhile, the expression of GPR41 and GPR43 in the colon was significantly increased by
taxifolin treatment. Moreover, the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and
IL-6 in colon tissue was inhibited by
taxifolin treatment. The fecal metabolism pattern changed significantly after DSS treatment, which was reversed by
taxifolin treatment. Importantly,
taxifolin significantly increased the levels of
butyric acid and
isobutyric acid in the feces of DSS-treated mice. In terms of gut flora,
taxifolin reversed the changes of Akkermansia, and further decreased uncultured_bacterium_f_Muribaculaceae.
Fecal transplantation from
taxifolin-treated mice showed a lower
diarrhea score, reduced inflammatory response in the colon, and reduced intestinal mucosal damage, which may be related to the increased level of
butyric acid in fecal metabolites. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that
taxifolin can ameliorate DSS-induced
colitis by altering gut microbiota to increase the production of SCFAs.