The effect of Lactobacillus spp. ensiled Alaria esculenta on fecal bacterial composition and butyrate content in healthy- and DSS-induced-colitis rats.
Alaria esculenta is an edible brown seaweed, and it is increasingly included as wholefood in the diet due to its flavor and potential prebiotic benefits. On the other hand, the seaweed's high ash and undigestible fiber content is a concern when consumed as wholefood. Present study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary inclusion of wholefood A. esculenta on gut health as indicated by the fecal bacterial composition and butyrate content in rats with or without DSS-induced-colitis. In total 32 rats were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups (n=8): control diet without DSS (CON) or with DSS (CON-DSS), or seaweed-based diets with 4 % DM whole seaweed without DSS (SEA) or with DSS (SEA-DSS) for the whole experimental period of 25 days. The CON-DSS and SEA-DSS received 2-3 % of DSS in drinking water from day 15 to day 25. The fecal bacterial composition was profiled using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing (V3-V4 regions), and the SCFA content in the feces was analyzed using gas chromatography. Other health-associated parameters were also recorded.