Long-term Consumption of 2-O--D-Glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic Acid from the Fruits of Lycium barbarum Modulates Gut Microbiota in C57BL/6 Micee

The modulating effect of 2-O--D-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid (AA-2G), a natural derivative of ascorbic acid from the fruits of Lycium barbarum, on mice gut microbiota was investigated in the present study. It was found that AA-2G was able to adjust the structure of mice gut microbiota, elevated the relative abundances of Verrucomicrobia, Porphyromonadaceae, Verrucomicrobiaceae and Erysipelotrichaceae, and meanwhile reduced the relative abundances of Firmicutes, Lachnospiraceae, Rikenellaceae, Ruminococcaceae, Bdellovibrionaceae, Anaeroplasmataceae and Peptococcaceae. Through the linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis, the key microbiota that found to be significantly changed after long-term consumption of AA-2G were Ruminococcaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Rikenellaceae. In addition, AA-2G could upregulate pro-inflammatory cytokines, promote tight junctions between intestinal cells, facilitate the generation of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and upregulate the mRNA expression level of SCFAs receptors, indicating that AA-2G might promote organism health. The results demonstrated that AA-2G might maintain organism health by modulating gut microbiota.