Effects of IQW and IRW on Inflammation and Gut Microbiota in ETEC-Induced Diarrhea

Methods The mice were randomly distributed into four groups: (a) control (CTRL) group, (b) ETEC group, (c) IQW-ETEC group, and (d) IRW-ETEC group. Villus length and crypt depth were measured after hematoxylin and eosin staining. The inflammatory reaction was analyzed via inflammatory cytokines (i.e., TNF- α , IL-1 β , IL-6, and IL-10) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The microbiota in the colon was sequenced using 16S ribosomal RNA.Results The villus length decreased, the crypt depth decreased, and the expression of inflammatory cytokines (i.e., TNF- α , IL-1 β , IL-6, and IL-10) increased due to ETEC. In the IRW-ETEC and IQW-ETEC groups, the Shannon index decreased ( P < 0.05). IQW and IRW increased the abundance of Firmicutes , Proteobacteria , Clostridiales , Lachnospiraceae , and Alloprevotella ; contrastingly, it decreased the abundance of Epsilonproteobacteria , Erysipelotrichales , Prevotellaceae , and Flavobacteriaceae compared to the ETEC group ( P  <0.05).Conclusion This study ascertained that the addition of IQW and IRW could alleviate jejunal inflammation and increase microbiota community diversity.