Acacia gum improves the gut barrier functionality in vitro

The Leaky Gut Syndrome - impairment of the gut wall functionality - is involved in many inflammatory diseases, among them IBS. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of arabinogalactan (AG) and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) on gut wall modulation using a Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME(R)) inoculated with faecal material from an IBS donor-coupled with co-cultures of enterocytes and macrophages (transwell approach using Caco-2 and THP1 cells). AG and FOS showed a different fermentation profile (more proximal for FOS and distal for AG) and both fibres exerted a potential positive effect on gut barrier (increased TEER parameter) and inflammation (modulation of cytokines IL-8, IL-6, IL-10 and NF-kappa B) in their main area of fermentation. AG could be an interesting nutritional supplement for the treatment of those conditions characterized by inflammation and increased permeability in the distal colon.