Dietary benzoic acid supplementation attenuates enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88-induced inflammation response and intestinal barrier dysfunction associated with gut microbiota modulation in newly-weaned mice
Jun Chen, Jinyong Chen, Xuena Jia, Youjun Hu, Xiaonan Zhao, Jinming You, Tiande Zou
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the impact of benzoic acid (BA) on inflammation response, intestinal barrier dysfunction, and gut microbiota in newly-weaned mice infected with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88 (ETEC K88). A sum of thirty newly-weaned BALB/c mice were assigned to five groups, including the non-ETEC K88 infection group and the ETEC K88 infection + BA groups (0 %, 0.4 %, 0.6 %, and 0.8 % BA). The addition of 0.6 % BA mitigated inflammatory response and intestinal barrier impairment caused by ETEC K88. The supplementation of 0.6 % BA resulted in an increase in the Observed_species, as well as the relative abundance of Erysipelotrichaceae and Faecalibacterium in the colon microbiota of mice. Spearman’s correlations analysis indicated a strong association between gut microbiota and parameters related to inflammation response and intestinal barrier function. Collectively, dietary 0.6 % BA supplementation could attenuate ETEC K88-induced inflammation response and intestinal barrier dysfunction associated with gut microbiota modulation in newly-weaned mice.