Integrated microbiomic and metabolomic analyses reveal the mechanisms by which bee pollen and royal jelly lipid extracts ameliorate colitis in mice

Qiangqiang Li; Wenwen Zhang; Enning Zhou; Yuxiao Tao; Miao Wang; Suzhen Qi; Liuwei Zhao; Yonggang Tan; Liming Wu

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113069

Integrated microbiomic and metabolomic analyses reveal the mechanisms by which bee pollen and royal jelly lipid extracts ameliorate colitis in mice

Food Res Int. 2023 Sep:171:113069. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113069. Epub 2023 Jun 2.

Authors

Qiangqiang Li¹, Wenwen Zhang², Enning Zhou¹, Yuxiao Tao¹, Miao Wang¹, Suzhen Qi¹, Liuwei Zhao¹, Yonggang Tan³, Liming Wu⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
² College of Life and Health Sciences, Anhui Science and Technology University, Bengbu 233100, China.
³ Oncology Center, Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, China. Electronic address: ygtan@cmu.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China. Electronic address: apiswu@126.com.

PMID: 37330827
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113069

Abstract

Bee pollen (BP) and royal jelly (RJ) have shown therapeutic effects against colitis, but the functional components contained therein remain elusive. Here, we used an integrated microbiomic-metabolomic strategy to clarify the mechanism by which bee pollen lipid extracts (BPL) and royal jelly lipid extracts (RJL) ameliorated dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Lipidomic results showed that levels of ceramide (Cer), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were significantly higher in BPL than in RJL. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of BPL surpassed that of RJL, although both BPL and RJL could attenuate DSS-induced colitis through several mechanisms: reducing the disease activity index (DAI); decreasing histopathological damage; inhibiting the expression of genes encoding proinflammatory cytokines; improving intestinal microbial community structure, and modulating host metabolism. These findings demonstrated that BPL and RJL have great potential as functional ingredients for the production of dietary supplements to prevent early colitis.

Keywords: Bee pollen; Colitis; Lipid extracts; Microbiomic-metabolomic; Royal jelly.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Bees
Colitis* / chemically induced
Colitis* / drug therapy
Colitis* / metabolism
Fatty Acids / analysis
Intestines / pathology
Mice
Pollen / chemistry

Substances

royal jelly
Fatty Acids