Community Metabolic Interactions, Vitamin Production and Prebiotic Potential of Medicinal Herbs Used for Immunomodulation
Authors
Christine Peterson
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Stanislav Iablokov
A.A. Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Sasha Uchitel
Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States
Deepak Chopra
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Josue Perez-Santiago
Puerto Rico Omic Center Genomics Core Division of Cancer Biology, University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dmitry Rodionov
A.A. Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Scott Peterson
Puerto Rico Omic Center Genomics Core Division of Cancer Biology, University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Historically, the health benefits and immunomodulatory potential of medicinal herbs have been considered an intrinsic quality of the herb itself. We have hypothesized that the health benefits of medicinal herbs may be partially due to their prebiotic potential that alter gut microbiota leading to changes in short chain fatty acids and vitamin production or biotransformation of herb encoded molecules and secondary metabolites. Accumulating studies emphasize the relationship between the gut microbiota and host immune function. While largely unknown, these interactions are mediated by secreted microbial products that activate or repress a variety of immune cell types. Here we evaluated the effect of immunomodulatory, medicinal Ayurvedic herbs on gut microbiota in vitro using 16S rRNA sequencing to assess changes in community composition and functional potential. All immunomodulatory herbs displayed substantial prebiotic potential, targeting unique taxonomic groups. Application of genome reconstruction and analysis of biosynthetic capacity of herb selected communities suggests that many of the 11 herbs tested altered the community metabolism as the result of differential glycan harvest and sugar utilization and secreted products including multiple vitamins, butyrate, and propionate that may impact host physiology and immune function. Taken together, these results provide a useful framework for the further evaluation of these immunomodulatory herbs in vivo to maintain immune homeostasis or achieve desired regulation of immune components in the context of disease.
Keywords: prebiotic, microbiota, immunomodulation, syntropy, short chain fatty acid, vitamin, metabolism, Ayurveda
Author Biographies
Stanislav Iablokov, A.A. Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Department of Theoretical Physics, P.G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University, Yaroslavl, Russia
Deepak Chopra, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Department of Ayurveda and Yoga Research, Chopra Foundation, Carlsbad, CA, United States
Dmitry Rodionov, A.A. Kharkevich Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Bioinformatics and Structural Biology Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
Scott Peterson, Puerto Rico Omic Center Genomics Core Division of Cancer Biology, University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bioinformatics and Structural Biology Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States
Click on "Archives" to access the full archive of scientific preprints. You may use the categories and the search functionality to find select preprints you're interested in.
