Alleviation of Intestinal Inflammation by Oral Supplementation With 2-Fucosyllactose in Mice.

Milk oligosaccharides exert a prebiotic action that contributes to the development of the infant gut microbiota during lactation. Given that milk oligosaccharides remain intact after passage through stomach and small intestine, they can potentially influence the composition of the gut microbiota when ingested as dietary supplements after weaning. To address the regulatory effects of specific oligosaccharides in colitis linked to the microbiota composition, we have supplemented interleukin-10 null ( ) mice with four fucosylated and sialylated oligosaccharides. We found that oral supplementation with 2-fucosyllactose significantly decreased the severity of colitis as displayed by reduced inflammatory marker expression, histological and diarrhea scores, an increased epithelial integrity and less pronounced colon shortening. Oral supplementation with 2-fucosyllactose led to a marked expansion of the commensal , which was accompanied by an enhanced cecal concentration of propionate. Decreased activation of immune cells by was confirmed by reconstitution of antibiotic-treated mice and by stimulation of dendritic cells . This study demonstrates that post-weaning administration of specific oligosaccharides can shift the composition of the gut microbiota to lessen chronic inflammation as observed in mice. The expansion of sets a positive microbial environment at the cost of pro-inflammatory Gram-negative bacteria, thereby lowering intestinal inflammation.