Bacillus licheniformis Reshapes the Gut Microbiota to Alleviate the Subhealth

Siyuan Feng, Chen Meng, Zikai Hao*, Hong Liu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Subhealth is a condition between health and disease that has become a common public health risk. Therefore, it is necessary to find more scientific therapies that can alleviate the symptoms of subhealth effectively. The gut microbiota is closely associated with subhealth. As a mature probiotic preparation, Bacillus licheniformis (B. licheniformis) can regulate gut microbiota balance, which indicates that B. licheniformis has the potential in regulating subhealth. This study produced the subhealthy rats by using chronic stress for 4 weeks to simulate psychological stress, with excessive antibiotics for 1 week to simulate bad living habits. Then, they were treated for 4 weeks with B. licheniformis. The results showed that B. licheniformis could recover the gut microbiota balance that had been destroyed by subhealth. The serum corticosterone and the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α decreased after being treated by B. licheniformis. B. licheniformis also reduced glutamic acid and norepinephrine levels while increasing γ-aminobutyric acid and 5-hydroxytryptamine levels in the brain. In addition to the physiological changes, B. licheniformis decreased the anxiety-like behaviors of rats. Therefore B. licheniformis could alleviate the subhealth state, mainly by remodeling the gut microbiota, reducing inflammation, inhibiting the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis hyperactivity, regulating neurotransmitter levels, and easing a negative mood.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1642
JournalNutrients
Volume14
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bacillus licheniformis
  • antibiotics
  • gut microbiota
  • subhealth

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