Seleno-lentinan prevents chronic pancreatitis development and modulates gut microbiota in mice

•Seleno-lentinan potentiates the physiological functions of selenium and lentinan.•Seleno-lentinan is conducive to prevent chronic pancreatitis development in mice.•Seleno-lentinan has a prebiotic-like efficacy on modulating gut microbiota in mice. The ability of seleno-lentinan in preventing chronic pancreatitis was examined and its prebiotic-like efficacy on gut microbiota in mice induced by 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine was also investigated. Seleno-lentinan more effectively impeded the progress of inflammation and fibrosis than selenite and lentinan through the enhancement of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities, inhibiting lipid peroxidation and decreasing the levels of serum tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β, as well as pancreatic hydroxyproline. The high throughput sequencing analysis showed that seleno-lentinan increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, whereas it decreased that of Firmicutes. At the genus level, seleno-lentinan increased the proportion of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Roseburia. Besides, the supplementation of selenium had a beneficial impact on the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria. Thus, seleno-lentinan availably prevents chronic pancreatitis development by elevating antioxidant status and has a prebiotic-like efficacy on the modulation of gut microbiota in mice.