Inulin and colitis: gut bacteria and mouse studies
What it found
Inulin changed gut bacteria from colitis patients in lab tests and eased colitis symptoms in mice.
The authors suggest it may one day help as a food-based treatment for colitis.
What they found
Studies in people
Gut bacteria in patients
Inulin reshaped the gut bacteria profile from colitis patients, especially by changing the amounts of Faecalibacterium and Blautia. In lab cultures, inulin helped both strains grow.
Animal and lab studies
Colitis symptoms in mice
All three treatments reduced weight loss, colon shortening and the Disease Activity Index score in mice with colitis.
Inflammation signals in mice
The treatments changed levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-17.
Gut bacteria and fatty acids
The treatments altered the amounts of Faecalibacterium and Blautia and changed the short-chain fatty acid profile in the cecum and colon.
Intestinal barrier in mice
The treatments increased levels of Claudin, Occludin, ZO-1 and MUC-2 in colon tissue, helping restore tissue structure.
How it may work
The authors say inulin eased colitis in mice by blocking the TRL4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway, lowering inflammation and strengthening the gut barrier.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion, we propose that inulin may hold promise as a functional food therapeutic approach for the treatment of colitis.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that inulin can change the gut bacteria of colitis patients and reduce experimental colitis in mice.
- They propose that inulin may hold promise as a functional food therapeutic approach for the treatment of colitis.
How it was done
Inulin has been reported to ease colitis, so the authors wanted to understand how it works and whether it could be useful.
They fermented feces from colitis patients with inulin to see how gut bacteria changed, then grew two bacterial strains with inulin. They also gave inulin, alone or with two probiotics, to mice with colitis caused by dextran sodium sulfate.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The colitis symptom and tissue results come from mice, so they cannot show what happens in people with colitis.
- The lab tests used feces from colitis patients, which can show bacterial changes but not whether inulin improves colitis symptoms in people.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declaration of competing interest There is no declaration of interest statement.
- Authors work at
- Jiangnan University, China; The Second People's Hospital of Anhui Province, China; Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical College, China
The paper
- Title
- Unveiling the therapeutic potential and mechanism of inulin in DSS-induced colitis mice
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Niu B, Li F, Lv X, et al (2024). Unveiling the therapeutic potential and mechanism of inulin in DSS-induced colitis mice. International journal of biological macromolecules. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.135861PubMed 39307495DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error