Metabolic outcomes of Cordyceps fungus and Goji plant polysaccharides during in vitro human fecal fermentation

This study was to assess the digestion and colonic fermentation of two bioactive polysaccharides, EPS-LM and LBPS, and the subsequent influences on human gut microbiota through simulated gastrointestinal systems. EPS-LM, an exopolysaccharide isolated from mycelial culture of a medicinal fungus Cordyceps sinensis Cs-HK1, was characterized as a heteropolysaccharide consisting of Man(108):Gal(52.7):Glc(29.2) (molar ratio) with an average molecular weight (MW) 5.513 × 10⁶. LBPS was isolated from a well-known medicinal plant (Lycium barbarum L.) which was also characterized as a heteropolysaccharide (1.236 × 10⁵ MW). Both polysaccharides were highly resistant to saliva, gastric and small-intestine digestion with negligible MW reduction and release of reducing sugars but were quickly degraded to lower MW during in vitro human fecal fermentation. They were consumed as a carbon source by the gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). In comparison, the carbohydrate content of EPS-LM was more completely consumed than LBPS and there were also notable differences in consumption of specific monosaccharides and production of specific SCFAs, propionic and butyric acid, and relative abundance of gut bacterial populations between EPS-LM and LBPS group. The results suggest that metabolic outcomes and modulating effects of EPS-LM and LBPS on the gut microbiota are highly dependent on their molecular composition.