Evaluating the probiotic effects of spraying lactiplantibacillus plantarum P-8 in neonatal piglets.

BACKGROUND: Gut microbes play an important role in the growth and health of neonatal piglets. Probiotics can promote the healthy growth of neonatal piglets by regulating their gut microbes. The study investigated the effects of spraying Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P-8 (L. plantarum P-8) fermentation broth on the growth performance and gut microbes of neonatal piglets. RESULTS: The animals were randomly divided into probiotics groups (109 neonatal piglets) and control groups (113 neonatal piglets). The probiotics group was sprayed with L. plantarum P-8 fermented liquid from 3 day before the expected date of the sow to the 7-day-old of piglets, while the control group was sprayed with equal dose of PBS. Average daily gain (ADG), immune and antioxidant status and metagenome sequencing were used to assess the changes in growth performance and gut microbiota of neonatal piglets. The results showed that L. plantarum P-8 treatment significantly improved the average daily gain (P < 0.05) of neonatal piglets. L. plantarum P-8 increased the activities of CAT and SOD but reduced the levels of IL-2 and IL-6, effectively regulating the antioxidant capacity and immunity in neonatal piglets. L. plantarum P-8 adjusted the overall structure of gut microflora improving gut homeostasis to a certain extent, and significantly increased the relative abundance of gut beneficial bacteria such as L. mucosae and L. plantarum. CONCLUSION: Spraying L. plantarum P-8 can be a feasible and effective probiotic intervention not only improving the growth of neonatal piglets, regulating the antioxidant capacity and immunity of neonatal piglets, but also improving the gut homeostasis to a certain extent.

The influence of parents' education anxiety on children's learning anxiety: the mediating role of parenting style and the moderating effect of extracurricular tutoring.

Introduction: This study investigates the intricate relationship between parents' education anxiety and children's learning anxiety, examining the mediating role of parenting style and the moderating effect of extracurricular tutoring. Methods: Utilizing data from the "Survey of Parents and Students in Primary and Secondary Schools," the study employs stratified sampling (n = 3,298) and various psychological scales to measure education anxiety, parenting styles, and extracurricular tutoring. Results: This study reveals that parents' education anxiety significantly influences children's learning anxiety, with a notable positive correlation (r = 0.301**). Parenting styles particularly rejection and overprotection style increase this anxiety, while emotional warmth style decreases it. Academic tutoring serves as a moderator, reducing the impact of parental anxiety on children's learning anxiety (ß = -0.033, p < 0.05). Discussion: The study underscores the importance of addressing internal family dynamics to alleviate education anxiety. It advocates for a balanced approach to tutoring, emphasizing the benefits of arts and sports activities in reducing learning anxiety. Parents should be encouraged to adopt emotionally warm parenting styles and to engage their children in a variety of extracurricular activities.

Development and validation of a LASSO prediction model for cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity: a case-control study in China.

BACKGROUND: Early identification of high-risk individuals with cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity (CIN) is crucial for avoiding CIN and improving prognosis. In this study, we developed and validated a CIN prediction model based on general clinical data, laboratory indications, and genetic features of lung cancer patients before chemotherapy. METHODS: We retrospectively included 696 lung cancer patients using platinum chemotherapy regimens from June 2019 to June 2021 as the traing set to construct a predictive model using Absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, cross validation, and Akaike's information criterion (AIC) to select important variables. We prospectively selected 283 independent lung cancer patients from July 2021 to December 2022 as the test set to evaluate the model's performance. RESULTS: The prediction model showed good discrimination and calibration, with AUCs of 0.9217 and 0.8288, sensitivity of 79.89% and 45.07%, specificity of 94.48% and 94.81%, in the training and test sets respectively. Clinical decision curve analysis suggested that the model has value for clinical use when the risk threshold ranges between 0.1 and 0.9. Precision-Recall (PR) curve shown in recall interval from 0.5 to 0.75: precision gradually declines with increasing Recall, up to 0.9. CONCLUSIONS: Predictive models based on laboratory and demographic variables can serve as a beneficial complementary tool for identifying high-risk populations with CIN.

Prevention and treatment of antibiotics-associated adverse effects through the use of probiotics: A review.

BACKGROUND: The human gut hosts a diverse microbial community, essential for maintaining overall health. However, antibiotics, commonly prescribed for infections, can disrupt this delicate balance, leading to antibiotic-associated diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and even neurological disorders. Recognizing this, probiotics have emerged as a promising strategy to counteract these adverse effects. AIM OF REVIEW: This review aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the latest evidence concerning the utilization of probiotics in managing antibiotic-associated side effects. KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW: Probiotics play a crucial role in preserving gut homeostasis, regulating intestinal function and metabolism, and modulating the host immune system. These mechanisms serve to effectively alleviate antibiotic-associated adverse effects and enhance overall well-being.

Correction: Administering Lactiplantibacillus fermentum F6 decreases intestinal Akkermansia muciniphila in a dextran sulfate sodium-induced rat colitis model.

Correction for 'Administering Lactiplantibacillus fermentum F6 decreases intestinal Akkermansia muciniphila in a dextran sulfate sodium-induced rat colitis model' by Qiuwen He et al., Food Funct., 2024, 15, 5882-5894, https://doi.org/10.1039/d4fo00462k.

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of microbiota dynamics during long-term backslopping fermentation of traditional fermented milk in a controlled laboratory environment.

Traditional fermented milks are produced through an inoculation process that involves the deliberate introduction of microorganisms that have been adapted and perpetuated across successive generations. However, the changes in the microbiota of traditional fermented milk during long-term inoculation fermentation in a laboratory environment remain unclear. In this study, we collected 5 samples of traditional fermented milk samples from 5 different counties in Tibet (3 kurut products) and Xinjiang (2 tarag products) of China, which served as starter cultures for a 9-mo continuous inoculation fermentation experiment. We analyzed the inter- and intra-population variations in the microbial communities of the collected samples, representing their macrodiversity and microdiversity, using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Across all samples, we obtained a total of 186 high-quality metagenomic-assembled genomes, including 7 genera and 13 species with a relative abundance of more than 1%. The majority of these genomes were annotated as Lactobacillus helveticus (60.46%), Enterococcus durans (9.52%), and Limosilactobacillus fermentum (6.23%). We observed significant differences in species composition and abundance among the 5 initial inoculants. During the long-term inoculation fermentation, we found an overall increasing trend in species diversity, composition, and abundances of carbohydrate metabolism module-encoding genes in the fermented milk bacterial metagenome, while the fermented milk virome exhibited a relatively narrow range of variation. Lactobacillus helveticus, a dominant species in traditional fermented milk, displayed high stability during the long-term inoculation fermentation. Our study provides valuable insights for the industrial production of traditional fermented milk.

Probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis Probio-M8 improves the fermentation and probiotic properties of fermented milk.

Probiotics are increasingly used as starter cultures to produce fermented dairy products; however, few studies have investigated the role of probiotics in milk fermentation metabolism. The current study aimed to investigate whether adding Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis Probio-M8 (Probio-M8) as a starter culture strain could improve milk fermentation by comparing the physico-chemical characteristics and metabolomes of fermented milks produced by a commercial starter culture with and without Probio-M8. Our results showed that adding Probio-M8 shortened the milk fermentation time and improved the fermented milk texture and stability. Metabolomics analyses revealed that adding Probio-M8 affected mostly organic acid, amino acid, and fatty acid metabolism in milk fermentation. Targeted quantitative analyses revealed significant increases in various metabolites related to the sensory quality, nutritive value, and health benefits of the probiotic fermented milk, including 5 organic acids (acetic acid, lactic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, and tartaric acid), 5 essential amino acids (valine, arginine, leucine, isoleucine, and lysine), glutamic acid, and 2 essential fatty acids (α-linolenic acid and docosahexaenoic acid). Thus, applying probiotics in milk fermentation is desirable. This study has generated useful information for developing novel functional dairy products.

Effects of toothpaste containing inactivated Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Probio-01 on plaque-induced gingivitis and dental plaque microbiota.

Plaque-induced gingivitis is an inflammatory response in gingival tissues resulting from bacterial plaque accumulation at the gingival margin. Postbiotics can promote the proliferation of beneficial bacteria and optimise the state of microbiota in the oral cavity. In this study, we investigated the effect of inactivated Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Probio-01 on plaque-induced gingivitis and the dental plaque microbiota. A total of 32 healthy gingival participants (Group N, using blank toothpaste for 3 months) and 60 patients with plaque-induced gingivitis (30 in Group F, using inactivated Probio-01 toothpaste for 3 months, and 30 in Group B, using blank toothpaste for 3 months, respectively) were recruited. Clinical indices, which included bleeding on probing (BOP), gingival index (GI), and plaque index (PI), were used to assess the severity of gingivitis. Furthermore, 16SrDNA amplicon sequencing was used to explore changes in the gingival state and dental plaque microbiota in patients with plaque-induced gingivitis. The results showed that inactivated Probio-01 significantly reduced clinical indices of gingivitis, including BOP, GI, and PI, in participants with plaque-induced gingivitis and effectively relieved gingival inflammation, compared with that observed in the control group (group B). Inactivated Probio-01 did not significantly influence the diversity of dental plaque microbiota, but increased the relative abundance of dental plaque core bacteria, such as Leptotrichia and Fusobacterium (P < 0.05). Strong correlations were observed between the indices and abundance of dental plaque microbiota. Overall, the inactivated Probio-01 significantly reduced the clinical indices of gingivitis and effectively improved gingival inflammation in patients with plaque-induced gingivitis. The activity of inactivated Probio-01 against plaque-induced gingivitis was possibly mediated by its ability to regulate the dental plaque microbiota, as indicated by the close correlation between the plaque microbiota and clinical indices of gingivitis.

Administering Lactiplantibacillus fermentum F6 decreases intestinal Akkermansia muciniphila in a dextran sulfate sodium-induced rat colitis model.

Probiotics are increasingly used to manage gut dysbiosis-related conditions due to their robust ability to manipulate the gut microbial community. However, few studies have reported that probiotics can specifically modulate individual gut microbes. This study demonstrated that administering the probiotic, Lactiplantibacillus fermentum F6, could ameliorate dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in a rat model, evidenced by the decreases in the disease activity index score, histopathology grading, and serum pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, as well as the increase in the serum anti-inflammatory cytokine levels. Shotgun metagenomics revealed that the fecal metagenomic of colitis rats receiving the probiotic intervention contained substantially fewer Akkermansia muciniphila than the dextran sulfate sodium group. Thus, the probiotic mechanism might be exerted by reducing specific gut microbial species associated with disease pathogenesis. A new paradigm for designing probiotics that manage diseases through direct and precise manipulation of gut microbes has been provided through this study.

Human Breast Milk: The Role of Its Microbiota and Metabolites in Infant Health.

This review explores the role of microorganisms and metabolites in human breast milk and their impact on neonatal health. Breast milk serves as both a primary source of nutrition for newborns and contributes to the development and maturation of the digestive, immunological, and neurological systems. It has the potential to reduce the risks of infections, allergies, and asthma. As our understanding of the properties of human milk advances, there is growing interest in incorporating its benefits into personalized infant nutrition strategies, particularly in situations in which breastfeeding is not an option. Future infant formula products are expected to emulate the composition and advantages of human milk, aligning with an evolving understanding of infant nutrition. The long-term health implications of human milk are still under investigation.

Probiotics combined with atorvastatin administration in the treatment of hyperlipidemia: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Hyperlipidemia is a common feature of chronic diseases. The aim of this work was designed to assess the role of probiotics (Lactobacillus casei Zhang, Bifidobactetium animalis subsp. lactis V9, and Lactobacillus plantarum P-8) in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. METHODS: Thirty three patients with hyperlipidemia were randomly divided into a probiotic group (n = 18) and a control group (n = 15). The probiotic group was administered probiotics (2 g once daily) and atorvastatin 20 mg (once daily), and the control group was administered a placebo (2 g once daily) and atorvastatin 20 mg (once daily). Serum and fecal samples were gathered for subsequent analyses. RESULTS: Time had a significant effect on the total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in the probiotic and control groups (P < .05). The gut microbial abundance in the probiotic group was markedly higher than that in the control group following 3-month probiotic treatment (P < .05). At the phylum level, probiotics exerted no notable effects on the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria but elevated that of Tenericutes and reduced Proteobacteria. At the genus level, probiotics increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Akkermansia, and decreased that of Escherichia, Eggerthella, and Sutterella relative to the control group in months 1, 2, and 3 (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Probiotics optimize the gut microbiota structure and decrease the amount of harmful bacteria in patients with hyperlipidemia. Probiotics can influence the composition of gut microorganisms and increase their diversity and abundance in vivo. It is recommended to use probiotics combined with atorvastatin to treat patients with hyperlipidemia.

A nomogram to predict cognitive function impairment in patients with chronic kidney disease: A national cross-sectional survey.

Background: Cognitive function impairment (CFI) is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and significantly impacts treatment adherence and quality of life. This study aims to create a simplified nomogram for early CFI risk detection. Methods: Data were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles spanning from 1999 to 2002 and again from 2011 to 2014. Stepwise logistic regression was used to select variables and construct a CFI risk prediction model. Furthermore, C-statistic and Brier Score (BS) assessed model performance. Additionally, Kaplan-Meier survival curves were utilised to assess risk group-death prognosis relationships. Results: Of the 545 participants in the CKD model development cohort, a total of 146 (26.8 %) had CFI. The final model included the variables of age, race, education, annual family income, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate, serum albumin and uric acid. The model had a C-statistic of 0.808 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.769-0.847) and a BS of 0.149. Furthermore, the 5-fold cross-validation internal C-statistic was 0.764 (interquartile range: 0.763-0.807) and BS was 0.154. Upon external validation, the model's C-statistic decreased to 0.752 (95 % CI: 0.654-0.850) and its BS increased to 0.182. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated that intermediate-to-high-risk participants had shorter overall survival time than low-risk participants (log-rank test: p = 0.00042). Conclusions: This study established an effective nomogram for predicting CFI in patients with CKD, which can be used for the early detection of CFI and guide the treatment of patients with CKD.

Preliminary Purification and Partial Characterization of a Functional Bacteriocin of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Zhang and Mining for its Gene Cluster.

Bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have good potential for use as food biopreservatives. Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Zhang (L. paracasei Zhang) is both a food use and a probiotic bacterium. This study aimed to purify and preliminary characterize the active antibacterial metabolite of L. paracasei Zhang. The cell-free supernatant of L. paracasei Zhang was collected and purified by ultrafiltration and gel filtration chromatography. The 1-3 kDa active fraction could inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus but not Escherichia coli. Further antibacterial activity assays revealed its capacity to suppress various foodborne and human opportunistic pathogens (including Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus), but not fungi. The antibacterial activity showed good tolerance to heat (40 to 100 °C), acid-base (pH 2-3 and pH 6-10), and digestions by a number of industrial and animal/human enzymes (such as trypsin, pepsin, α-amylase, and protease K, except papain); these desired properties make it a suitable biopreservative to be used in harsh and complex industrial production processes. The high papain sensitivity suggested a proteinaceous/peptide nature of the bioactivity. Moreover, our genomic data mining for bacteriocin through BAGEL4 revealed an area of interest encoding a complete set of putative genes required for bacteriocin production. In conclusion, our study showed that L. paracasei Zhang can produce extracellular functional antibacterial metabolite, likely a class II bacteriocin. Our preliminary extraction and characterization of the active metabolite demonstrated that it has good potential to be used as a biopreservative or an agent for suppressing gastrointestinal infections.

Postbiotic Administration Ameliorates Colitis and Inflammation in Rats Possibly through Gut Microbiota Modulation.

Postbiotics are preparations of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that are beneficial to host health. Compared with probiotics, the postbiotic dose required for exerting obvious protective effects is unknown. Thus, we conducted a dose-dependent postbiotic intervention study in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis rats. The trial included five rat groups, including: control without DSS/postbiotic treatment, group C; 7-day DSS treatment, group D; 14-day low, medium, and high probiotic doses (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 g/kg; groups L, M, H, respectively) after DSS induction. We found that postbiotic intervention effectively mitigated the symptoms and inflammation in colitis rats, evidenced by the improved spleen index, less severe colon tissue damage, and changes in serum cytokine levels (decreases in tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1ß; increase in interleukin-10) in postbiotic groups compared with group D. Moreover, the therapeutic effect was dose-dependent. Fecal metabolomics analysis revealed that the postbiotic recipients had more anti-inflammatory metabolites, namely, salicyloyl phytophingosine, podophylloxin, securinine, baicalein, and diosmetin. Fecal metagenomics analysis revealed that the postbiotic recipients had more beneficial microbes and less pro-inflammatory bacteria. This study confirmed that postbiotics are effective in alleviating colitis in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings are of interest to food scientists, clinicians, and the health food industry.

Dynamic Changes of the Gut Microbiota and Its Functional Metagenomic Potential during the Development of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

The gut microbiota plays a significant role in tumor pathogenesis by regulating the host metabolism and immune response, and there are few studies focused on tracking changes in the gut microbiota from the onset of lung cancer. Therefore, the aim of our study is combining preclinical and clinical research to thoroughly analyze the signatures of fecal microbiota in lung cancer, which will be useful for early diagnosis and predicting the therapeutic efficacy of lung cancer. The first part of this study analyzed the fecal metagenomic differences between patients with non-small cell lung cancer and healthy subjects, and the second part of this work constructed a murine lung cancer model to monitor changes in mouse fecal metagenomics and T cell immunology during lung cancer progression. We found that the fecal microbiota was altered in both humans and mice with lung cancer, characterized by a significantly reduced microbial diversity and number of beneficial microbes, with increases in potential pathogens. The fecal level of Akkermansia muciniphila and the gut metabolic module of the secondary bile acid metabolism were diminished in both humans and mice with lung cancer compared with healthy subjects. Splenomegaly was observed in the lung cancer mice. Flow cytometer analysis of the splenocytes revealed substantial alterations in the proportions of T cell subsets in the lung cancer mice, characterized by significant increases in CD4+Foxp3+CD25+ T regulatory cells (p < 0.05) while significant decreases in CD3+ T cells (p < 0.001), CD4+ T cells (p < 0.001), and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio (p < 0.01). Vertical and longitudinal analyses of the fecal microbiota of the two mouse groups identified some lung cancer biomarkers (including Acutalibacter timonensis, Lachnospiraceae bacterium NSJ-38 sp014337195, etc.). The fecal microbiota of the lung cancer mice had a reduced metagenomic potential for neurotransmitters (melatonin, γ-aminobutyric acid, and histamine) compared with healthy mice. In summary, this study found that the diversity, structure, and composition of gut microbiota vary between cancer and healthy conditions, ultimately leading to changes in the potential for functional metagenomics.

Nonparametric two-sample tests of high dimensional mean vectors via random integration.

Testing the equality of the means in two samples is a fundamental statistical inferential problem. Most of the existing methods are based on the sum-of-squares or supremum statistics. They are possibly powerful in some situations, but not in others, and they do not work in a unified way. Using random integration of the difference, we develop a framework that includes and extends many existing methods, especially in high-dimensional settings, without restricting the same covariance matrices or sparsity. Under a general multivariate model, we can derive the asymptotic properties of the proposed test statistic without specifying a relationship between the data dimension and sample size explicitly. Specifically, the new framework allows us to better understand the test's properties and select a powerful procedure accordingly. For example, we prove that our proposed test can achieve the power of 1 when nonzero signals in the true mean differences are weakly dense with nearly the same sign. In addition, we delineate the conditions under which the asymptotic relative Pitman efficiency of our proposed test to its competitor is greater than or equal to 1. Extensive numerical studies and a real data example demonstrate the potential of our proposed test.

Association of cognitive impairment with the interaction between chronic kidney disease and depression: findings from NHANES 2011-2014.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment (CoI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and depression are prevalent among older adults and are interrelated, imposing a significant disease burden. This study evaluates the association of CKD and depression with CoI and explores their potential interactions. METHOD: Data for this study were sourced from the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES). Multiple binary logistic regression models assessed the relationship between CKD, depression, and CoI while controlling for confounders. The interactions were measured using the relative excess risk of interaction (RERI), the attributable proportion of interaction (AP), and the synergy index (S). RESULTS: A total of 2,666 participants (weighted n = 49,251,515) were included in the study, of which 700 (16.00%) had CoI. After adjusting for confounding factors, the risk of CoI was higher in patients with CKD compared to non-CKD participants (odds ratio [OR] = 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.12-1.99). The risk of CoI was significantly increased in patients with depression compared to those without (OR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.73-3.03). Furthermore, there was a significant additive interaction between CKD and depression in terms of the increased risk of CoI (adjusted RERI = 2.01, [95% CI: 0.31-3.71], adjusted AP = 0.50 [95% CI: 0.25-0.75], adjusted S = 2.97 [95% CI: 1.27-6.92]). CONCLUSION: CKD and depression synergistically affect CoI, particularly when moderate-to-severe depression co-occurs with CKD. Clinicians should be mindful of the combined impact on patients with CoI. Further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and assess the effects specific to different CKD stages.

TENSOR QUANTILE REGRESSION WITH LOW-RANK TENSOR TRAIN ESTIMATION.

Neuroimaging studies often involve predicting a scalar outcome from an array of images collectively called tensor. The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a unique opportunity to investigate the structures of the brain. To learn the association between MRI images and human intelligence, we formulate a scalar-on-image quantile regression framework. However, the high dimensionality of the tensor makes estimating the coefficients for all elements computationally challenging. To address this, we propose a low-rank coefficient array estimation algorithm based on tensor train (TT) decomposition which we demonstrate can effectively reduce the dimensionality of the coefficient tensor to a feasible level while ensuring adequacy to the data. Our method is more stable and efficient compared to the commonly used, Canonic Polyadic rank approximation-based method. We also propose a generalized Lasso penalty on the coefficient tensor to take advantage of the spatial structure of the tensor, further reduce the dimensionality of the coefficient tensor, and improve the interpretability of the model. The consistency and asymptotic normality of the TT estimator are established under some mild conditions on the covariates and random errors in quantile regression models. The rate of convergence is obtained with regularization under the total variation penalty. Extensive numerical studies, including both synthetic and real MRI imaging data, are conducted to examine the empirical performance of the proposed method and its competitors.

Both viable Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis B8762 and heat-killed cells alleviate the intestinal inflammation of DSS-induced IBD rats.

In view of the safety concerns of probiotics, more and more attention is paid to the beneficial effects of dead probiotics cells. Herein, we investigated and compared the alleviation effects of viable Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis B8762 (B. infantis B8762) and its heat-killed cells on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) rats. Four groups of rats (n = 12 per group) were included: normal control, DSS-induced colitis rats without bacterial administration (DSS), DSS-induced colitis rats with viable B. infantis B8762 administration (VB8762), and DSS-induced colitis rats with dead B. infantis B8762 administration (DB8762). Our results showed that both VB8762 and DB8762 administration exerted significant protective effects on DSS-induced IBD rats, as evidenced by a reduction in mortality, disease activity index score, body weight loss, as well as decreased histology score, which were companied by a significant decrease in serum pro-inflammatory factors compared with DSS group, and a stronger effect on modulating the fecal microbiota alpha-diversity and beta-diversity compared with DSS group. Additionally, the fecal metabolome results showed that both VB8762 and DB8762 interventions indeed altered the fecal metabolome profile and related metabolic pathways of DSS-induced IBD rats. Therefore, given the alleviation effects on colitis, the DB8762 can be confirmed to be a postbiotic. Overall, our findings suggested that VB8762 and DB8762 had similar ability to alleviate IBD although with some differences. Due to the minimal safety concern of postbiotics, we propose that the postbiotic DB8762 could be a promising alternative to probiotics to be applied in the prevention and treatment of IBDs.IMPORTANCEInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has emerged as a global disease because of the worldwide spread of western diets and lifestyles during industrialization. Up to now, many probiotic strains are used as a modulator of gut microbiota or an enhancer of gut barrier to alleviate or cure IBD. However, there are still many issues of using probiotics, which were needed to be concerned about, for instance, safety issues in certain groups like neonates and vulnerable populations, and the functional differences between viable and dead microorganisms. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the beneficial effects of dead probiotics cells. The present study proved that both viable Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis B8762 and heat-killed cells could alleviate dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis in rats. The findings help to support that some heat-killed probiotics cells can also exert relevant biological functions and can be used as a postbiotic.