Effects of bentonite Bgp35b‐p on the gut microbiota of mice fed a high‐fat diet

BACKGROUND Bentonite is a natural clay mineral with health‐promoting effects due to its high adsorption abilities with high cation‐exchange capacity. Previously, we found an anti‐obesity effect for Bgp35b‐p bentonite produced in South Korea, where its high adsorbent ability of dietary lipids possibly partially removed the lipidic environment in the gut (unpublished). It is hypothesized that Bgp35b‐p affects the intestinal microbial community, and thus the microbial changes were investigated via next‐generation sequencing targeting the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and bioinformatics using QIIME (Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology) were performed on feces of C57BL/6 male mice fed a high‐fat diet (HFD) with the Bgp35b‐p. RESULTS The HFD caused microbial dysbiosis, characterized by a decrease in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and an increase in abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. It was found that HFD + Bgp35b‐p led to significant changes in the microbial compositions of family‐level bacteria known as short‐chain fatty‐acid‐producing bacteria. The relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae was significantly increased, and the abundances of Clostridiaceae and Lachnospiraceae were decreased by HFD + Bgp35b‐p, shifting close to that in mice fed a normal diet. CONCLUSION Bgp35b‐p induced compositional changes in intestinal microbiota, which can be considered as a prebiotic effect, thus suggesting that bentonite may be a potential prebiotic functional supplement. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry