Adhesive Bifidobacterium Induced Changes in Cecal Microbiome Alleviated Constipation in Mice

Abstract

Constipation, which seriously affects living quality of people, is a common gastrointestinal disease. The engagement of the intestinal flora in the development of symptoms of constipation has been frequently hypothesized. In this study, constipated mice induced by loperamide were used to investige the alleviation of constipation by Bifidobacteria. Bifidobacteria was sorted out according to their adhesive properties into two groups. One group combined multiple strains of Bifidobacterium with adhesion property (CMB1), the other combined multiple strains of Bifidobacterium without adhesion property (CMB2). It was found that CMB1 can alleviate constipation more efficiently by improving the water, propionate and butyrate content in feces, and overall gastrointestinal transit time. Meanwhile, from the perspective of fecal microbiota, CMB1 alleviated constipation mainly by increasing the relative abundances of genera (Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Prevotella) associated with rapid bowel movement. From the perspective of cecal microbiota, CMB1 alleviated constipation mainly by increasing the relative abundances of genera Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, unclassified S24-7, Dorea, Ruminococcus, Coprococcus, and Rikenella, and decreasing the relative abundances of genera Oscillospira, Odoribacter and Unclassified F16, which are associated with methane production and colonic transit. Overall, changes of microbiota in caecum by CMB1 reflect the stage of constipation in mice more comprehensively than that in feces.