Intake of high-purity insoluble dietary fiber from <i>Okara</i> for the amelioration of colonic environment disturbance caused by acute ulcerative colitis

Abstract

High-purity insoluble dietary fiber from okara (okara-HPIDF) is a raw material with a potentially positive effect on colon health. However, the mechanisms of the effect are far from clear. In this study, okara-HPIDF and low-purity dietary fiber from okara (okara-LPDF) were fed to C57BL/6 mice with acute ulcerative colitis induced by DSS. The levels of inflammatory factors, bacterial 16S rDNA sequencing, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and bioinformatics were analyzed with the colonic tissue status. The results showed that the intake of HPIDF affected the proliferation of the key bacteria <i>Shigella</i>, <i>Lactobacillus</i>, and <i>Peptostreptococcaceae</i> in the PWY-2941 pathway and AEROBACTINSYN-PWY pathway, and then affected the synthesis of SCFAs, providing a positive role for colon health. However, the intake of HPIDF was unable to repair colonic injury caused by DSS-induced acute ulcerative colitis mainly owing to the abundance of <i>Shigella</i> in the colon. This study demonstrates that the recommended intake content of HPIDF can ameliorate colonic environment disturbance caused by acute ulcerative colitis, but not enough to relieve it.