The latest progress of natural food polysaccharides preventing ulcerative colitis by regulating intestinal microbiota

Abstract

The incidence of ulcerative colitis (UC) is increasing annually and tends to inflict younger individuals, and seriously affects daily work, study, and physical and mental health. Therefore, the development of natural products that are capable of preventing UC has become a current research topic. Natural food polysaccharides have been shown to have protective effects on intestinal health. In this article, we review the latest research progress on natural food polysaccharides in preventing UC and restoring intestinal health by regulating the intestinal microbiota. This review provides a theoretical basis for the nutritional prevention mechanism of UC and the recovery of intestinal health using natural food polysaccharides. Importantly, whether natural food polysaccharides can prevent UC through the microbe-gut-brain axis is expected to be a new direction for future research.

Keywords

• Polysaccharides
• Intestinal microbiota
• Ulcerative colitis
• Intestinal health