Colorectal cancer is a public health problem, with dysbiosis being one of the risk factors due to its role in intestinal inflammation. Probiotics and synbiotics have been used in order to restore the microbiota balance and to prevent colorectal carcinogenesis. We aimed to investigate the effects of the probiotic VSL#3® alone or in combination with a yacon-based prebiotic concentrate on the microbiota modulation and its influence on colorectal carcinogenesis in an animal model. C57BL/6J mice were divided into three groups: control (control diet), probiotic (control diet + VSL#3®), and synbiotic (yacon diet + VSL#3®). The diets were provided for 13 weeks and, from the third one, all animals were subjected to induction of colorectal cancer precursor lesions. Stool samples were collected to evaluate organic acids, feces pH, β-glucuronidase activity, and microbiota composition. The colon was used to count pre-neoplastic lesions and to determine the cytokines. The microbiota composition was influenced by the use of probiotic and synbiotic. Modifications were also observed in the abundance of bacterial genera with respect to the control group, which confirms the interference of carcinogenesis in the microbiota. Pre-neoplastic lesions were reduced by the use of the synbiotic, but not with the probiotic. The protection provided by the synbiotic can be attributed to the modulation of the intestinal inflammatory response, to the inhibition of a pro-carcinogenic enzyme, and to the production of organic acids. The modulation of the composition and activity of the microbiota contributed to beneficial changes in the intestinal microenvironment, which led to a reduction in carcinogenesis. KEY POINTS: • Synbiotic reduces the incidence of colorectal cancer precursor lesions. • Synbiotic modulates the composition and activity of intestinal microbiota. • Synbiotic increases the abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria.

中文翻译：

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益生元VSL＃3和基于yacon的产品可调节肠微生物群，并防止大肠癌发生模型中肿瘤前病变的发展。

大肠癌是一个公共卫生问题，由于其在肠道炎症中的作用，营养不良是其危险因素之一。益生菌和合生元已用于恢复微生物群平衡并预防结直肠癌变。我们旨在研究益生菌VSL＃3®单独或与基于yacon的益生元浓缩物联合使用对动物模型中微生物群调节及其对结直肠癌发生的影响的作用。C57BL / 6J小鼠分为三组：对照（对照饮食），益生菌（对照饮食+ VSL＃3®）和合生素（养蜂饮食+ VSL＃3®）。提供饮食13周，从第三个开始，对所有动物进行大肠癌前体病变的诱导。收集粪便样品以评估有机酸，粪便pH，β-葡萄糖醛酸苷酶活性，和微生物群组成。结肠用于计数肿瘤前病变并确定细胞因子。微生物群的组成受益生菌和合生元的影响。相对于对照组，在细菌属的丰富度上也观察到了修饰，这证实了微生物群中致癌作用的干扰。通过使用合生素可减少肿瘤前病变，但不使用益生菌。合生元提供的保护作用可归因于肠道炎症反应的调节，致癌酶的抑制以及有机酸的产生。微生物群组成和活性的调节有助于肠道微环境的有益变化，从而导致致癌作用的降低。关键点：•合生元减少了大肠癌前体病变的发生率。•合生素调节肠道菌群的组成和活性。•合生元增加了产生丁酸盐的细菌的数量。