Metagen, the Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, the University of Tokyo and Teijin today announced results from their joint research into the effects of inulin intake on the risk of death from the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in a hamster model.
Experiments by the four parties showed that feeding inulin to the novel coronavirus-infected Syrian hamsters used as an animal model increases the amount of secondary bile acids derived from gut microbiota in the stool and serum.
As a result, the risk of death due to the novel coronavirus infection is significantly reduced.
The results
Hamsters were divided into two groups based on diet: a normal diet (control group) and a diet supplemented with 5 percent inulin, a type of prebiotic, which replaced 5% of the starch within the normal diet.
Following two weeks of each diet, the hamsters were nasally infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The survival rate at 10 days after infection was 60% in the control group and 100% in the group fed a diet supplemented with 5% inulin.
In the stool and serum of hamsters in the test group, the amount of deoxycholic acid1, a secondary bile acid derived from gut microbiota, was significantly higher than in the control group.
Research by Associate Professor Takeshi Ichinohe of Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo and Project Professor Shinji Fukuda of Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University and the CEO of Metagen have previously revealed that deoxycholic acid suppresses the severity of the novel coronavirus infection2.
This study has shown that inulin intake increases the production of deoxycholic acid and can significantly improve the survival rates compared to the control group.
References
1 Deoxycholic acid (DCA): A secondary bile acid produced by gut bacteria. It has been reported that it affects immune and metabolic function.
2 Nagai et al., High body temperature increases gut microbiota-dependent host resistance to influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Comm. 2023;14: 3863