Targeting gut microbiota health in aged rats through the potent strategy of probiotics supplementation during intermittent fasting

Abstract

Gut health in aging populations, including animal models, is a critical area of research due to the decline in microbial diversity with age. Maintaining gut health has important implications for overall health and longevity. This study aimed to evaluate the interdependent effects of SCD Probiotics and intermittent fasting (IF) on gut microbiota (GM) in 24-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats, a wellestablished model for aging research. The experiment involved four groups: a control, IF-only, probiotics-only, and a combination of IF and probiotics. The metagenomic analysis of cecum contents for IF and SCD Probiotics groups has shown increased Shannon and Simpson diversity of alpha index values and improved ratios for Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) revealed significant changes in the probiotics-only and combined IF with SCD Probiotics groups, particularly with acetic and propionic acids. The results indicate that combining SCD Probiotics with IF produces interdependent benefits, improving bacterial diversity and SCFAs profiles. These findings suggest that SCD Probiotics with intermittent fasting could be a promising strategy to enhance gut health in aging populations, with potential applications in veterinary health.