title: Neoagarotetraose protects mice against intense exercise-induced fatigue damage by modulating gut microbial composition and function.
abstract: Exhaustive exercise stress has emerged as an important health issue, and gastrointestinal problems are a common concern during intense exercise. In this study, we investigated the potential antifatigue effects of neoagarotetraose (NAT) in mice under intense exercise stress.
  
  
  
  Exhaustive exercise stress significantly weakened several physiological and physical parameters of the mice, including decreased food intake, reduced body weight, and impaired integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier. Our data showed that a 16-day NAT treatment resulted in a profound change in microbiome composition, which subsequently led to widespread shifts in the functional potential of the gut microbiome. Furthermore, NAT administration significantly increased the fecal concentration of total short-chain fatty acids (p < 0.01).
  
  
  
  Together, our findings suggest that NAT may protect mice against intense exercise-induced fatigue and provide insights into the mechanisms of NAT as a potential prebiotic.
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Xiangzhao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS), Beltsville, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Enling
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Yuming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Changhu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Qingjuan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism; D005697:Galactosides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D007583:Jejunum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000009:adverse effects; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
chemical_list: D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D005697:Galactosides; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; C081798:neoagarotetraose
keywords: 16S rRNA; Gut microbiota; Metagenome; NAT; SCFAs