Lacticaseibacillus paracasei X11/Pet Probiotics powder

Screening of intestinal peristalsis-promoting probiotics based on a zebrafish model was published in the journal Food & Function in 2019. The paper focuses on the effects of different probiotic strains on intestinal retention and peristalsis in zebrafish, and identifies feasible methods for rapid screening of probiotics with constipation-modulating functions.

Research Background

* Constipation is a common gastrointestinal dysfunction associated with an imbalance of intestinal flora.

* Zebrafish is an important disease model and drug discovery model, and its intestinal flora is similar to that of humans and easy to culture, making it suitable for large-scale rapid screening.

Research Methods

1. Probiotic strain culture: A variety of strains were used, including two standard strains, LGG and BB12, and six potentially functional strains, L. paracasei X11, L. paracasei M5, L. casei K11, L. casei YLD, B. lactis kv9 and B. bifidum YRT3115.

2. Zebrafish culture: AB strain zebrafish was purchased for artificial incubation culture and experiments were conducted at specific time points.

3. Strain suspension immersion: different strain suspensions were mixed with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and immersed in zebrafish larvae to observe the intensity of intestinal fluorescence and to assess the ability of the strains to remain in the intestine.

4. Intestinal peristalsis modelling: Constipated zebrafish were modelled using loperamide, and the effects of different strains on the frequency of intestinal peristalsis were observed.

Study results

* Strain X11, K11 and YLD had better retention ability in zebrafish intestine, but strains with strong retention ability did not necessarily have good function.

* Strain X11 and BB12 have better intestinal pro-peristalsis function and can significantly improve the frequency of intestinal peristalsis in constipated zebrafish.

Study Conclusions

* Fluorescence intensity allows comparison of the relative numbers of different strains in the zebrafish intestine, but does not allow assessment of real-time colony numbers.

* Based on the zebrafish model, strains X11, K11 and YLD had better intestinal retention ability, but strains with strong retention ability did not necessarily have good function; among the strains, X11, BB12, had better intestinal pro-peristalsis function.

Research Implications

* This study provides a new method for rapid screening of constipation-regulating probiotics.

* Strain X11 and BB12 have better intestinal motility, which is expected to be developed into probiotic products for constipation treatment.