Abstract:The effect of crude extract of fecal microbiota on artificially-induced ulcerative colitis in mice was investigated in this study. A total of 64 healthy mice were randomly divided into four groups: blank (n=20), enteritis blank (n=20), sulfasalazine (SASP, n=12), and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT, n=12). Mice assigned to the treated groups were allowed to freely drink 3% dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) solution for seven days, to establish the ulcerative colitis (UC) model. Subsequently, mice in the SASP and FMT groups were treated with SASP solution and crude extract of fecal microbiota for four weeks, respectively. Mice were observed for two weeks with a gavage performed once every two days. The results showed that compared with the enteritis blank group, crude extract of fecal microbiota significantly decreased serum interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels (p<0.05), reduced nuclear factor (NF)-κB protein expression, and increased the level of IκB protein expression. The results indicate that crude extract of fecal microbiota exerts an anti-colitis effect by suppressing activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway and has potential applications in clinical medicine.
