Soy Protein Alleviates Malnutrition in Weaning Rats by Regulating Gut Microbiota Composition and Serum Metabolites

Zuchen Wei; Nong Zhou; Liang Zou; Zhenxing Shi; Baoqing Dun; Guixing Ren; Yang Yao

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.774203

Soy Protein Alleviates Malnutrition in Weaning Rats by Regulating Gut Microbiota Composition and Serum Metabolites

Front Nutr. 2021 Nov 29:8:774203. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.774203. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Zuchen Wei^{1

2}, Nong Zhou², Liang Zou³, Zhenxing Shi¹, Baoqing Dun¹, Guixing Ren¹, Yang Yao¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China.
² Laboratory for Green Cultivation and Deep Processing of Three Gorges Reservoir Area's Medicinal Herbs, College of Life Science and Engineering, The Chongqing Engineering, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Chongqing, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Coarse Cereal Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China.

Abstract

Dietary intervention with plant protein is one of the main methods that is used to lessen the symptoms of malnutrition. Supplementary soy protein to undernourished weaning rats for 6 weeks significantly increased their body weight gain. After the intervention, the level of total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) was restored to 1,512.7 μg/g, while the level was only 637.1 μg/g in the 7% protein group. The amino acids (valine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan) increased in the colon, and vitamin B₆ metabolism was significantly influenced in undernourished rats. The tryptophan and glycine-serine-threonine pathways were elevated, leading to an increase in the level of tryptophan and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) in the serum. In addition, the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group and Lactobacillus increased, while Enterococcus and Streptococcus decreased compared to undernourished rats. Overall, soy protein improved the growth of rats with malnutrition in early life by regulating gut microbiota and metabolites in the colon and serum.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; microbiota; soy protein; undernourished; untargeted metabolomics.