Prebiotics as adjunctive treatment ameliorates DSS-induced colitis and gut microbiota.

Yu Kong, Pinjiang Cao, Jingdan Wu, Xingwang Ye

Microbiol Spectr

Jan 6, 2026

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Abstract

UNLABELLED: The disturbance of gut microbiota is closely related to the occurrence and development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which can be improved by the supplementation of prebiotics. The therapeutic benefits of exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) on patients with IBD are variable, and it has adverse effects on gut microbiota. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the efficacy of EEN combined with prebiotics on colitis and gut microbiota. In our study, mice were administered distilled water containing 4% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to induce colitis, then fed with normal water, EEN, EEN combined with isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO), EEN combined with fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), and EEN combined with polydextrose (POL) for 1 week, respectively. The results revealed that EEN combined with prebiotic treatments showed more benefits in alleviating DSS-induced colitis than EEN treatment, among which FOS exhibited superior efficacy, including reducing disease activity index (DAI) (8.67±0.52 vs 9.67±0.82) and preventing colon shortening (7.23±0.33 vs 6.43±0.28 cm). Compared with the DSS group (7.00 [interquartile range, IQR: 5.75-8.25]), the histological score of IMO (2.50 [IQR: 2.00-4.00]), FOS (2.50 [IQR: 0.00-3.00]), and POL (2.00 [IQR: 1.50-7.25]) groups was obviously lower. In addition, prebiotics as adjunctive treatment increased more beneficial species than EEN treatment. Compared with the DSS group, POL adjuvant treatment enhanced the Simpson index, altered the overall structure of the gut microbiota, and IMO adjuvant treatment improved the F/B ratio (0.28 [IQR: 0.12-0.64] vs 1.06 [IQR: 0.87-2.82]). This study proved that prebiotics as adjuvant therapy improved colitis by regulating gut microbiota, providing a foundation for clinical application. IMPORTANCE: We demonstrated the superior efficacy of prebiotics as adjuvant therapy in improving clinical outcomes (body weight, colonic length, disease activity index, and histological score) and modulating the structure and composition of gut microbiota in dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis in mice.