Stimulation of Codonopsis pilosula Polysaccharide on Bifidobacterium of Human Gut Bacteria In Vitro

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prebiotic effects of Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharide (CPP) on human gut bacteria in vitro. METHODS: Codonopsis Radix was extracted with water at 100°C, and the extract was precipitated by 80% ethanol to obtain CPP. Human fresh fecal samples were collected from three healthy adults and used to ferment CPP. The fermented samples were collected to be analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. RESULTS: The results showed that CPP exhibited significantly the stimulation on the growth of genus Bifidobacterium of human gut bacteria (Padj < 0.05). Although CPP also exhibited regulative trends on the genera including Acidaminococcus, Bilophila, Dorea, and Eggerthella, no significant differences were observed (Padj > 0.05), which was likely associated with the limited samples (n = 3). CONCLUSION: CPP has the potential to stimulate the growth of Bifidobacterium of the human gut bacteria and to be benefit to human health.