Effect of Butyrylated Lotus Seed Starch on Small Intestinal Flora and Short-Chain Fatty Acids Production in Mice

Abstract

Butyric acid has the highest utilization rate among all short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and is essential for human health. Findings have confirmed that butyrylation of starch is a practical way to produce more butyrate in the large intestine. This study aims to investigate effect of butyrylated lotus seed starches (LSBs) on small intestinal flora and SCFAs in mice. In our results, the body weight of mice treated with lotus seed resistant starch (RS) and LSBs with different degree of substitution (DS) for 4 weeks had no significant differences. The LSB with low DS could improve the small intestine morphology most. 16S rRNA results showed that the relative abundances of the family Lactobacillaceae and Lachnospiraceae were relatively promoted, and several harmful genera e.g Desulfovibrio were suppressed in LSBs group. Moreover, we established a correlation analysis between dominant bacterial and SCFAs production in the small intestine. Our results would provide a valuable reference for the effects of acylated starch on small intestinal flora. It also layed a research foundation for the design of functional dietary fibers inducing high butyric acid production.

Keywords: Butyrylated starch, Small intestine, gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, Butyrate production