{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T01:15:44Z","timestamp":1788225344423,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783382400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783382400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012166","name":"National Key Research and Development Program of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024YFD1300701, 2021YFD1300401"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024YFD1300701, 2021YFD1300401"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012166","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32372906"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32372906"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Hubei Provincial Major Research and Development Project of China","award":["2024BBA004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024BBA004"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Microbiol Spectr"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title\/>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), a bioactive phytomacromolecule from\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Astragalus membranaceus<\/jats:italic>\n                      , exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory activities. Given mammals\u2019 lack of endogenous glycosidases for APS catabolism, this study hypothesizes its bioactivity stems from gut microbial interactions, investigating APS-mediated microbiome remodeling and therapeutic effects on perinatal metabolic syndrome (PeriMS) in sows.\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">In vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                      fermentation showed that APS significantly increased short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, with acetate (44.51 mmol\/L), propionate (17.37 mmol\/L), and butyrate (22.04 mmol\/L) levels notably elevated and enriched canonical butyrate-producing taxa (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">g_norank_f_Muribaculaceae<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">g_Monoglobus<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">g_unclassified_f_Lachnospiraceae<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt; 0.05).\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">In vivo<\/jats:italic>\n                      , gestational APS supplementation (from day 90) improved piglet weaning weight, reduced maternal backfat loss during lactation, shortened post-weaning estrus interval, elevated intestinal butyrate, alleviated systemic inflammation\/oxidative stress, and mitigated PeriMS. Mechanistic analysis associated PeriMS improvement with butyrate-producing bacteria, with butyrate playing a key role in gut health enhancement. These findings establish APS as a prebiotic, highlighting the gut microbiota-SCFA axis as a therapeutic target for PeriMS. This study provides targeted mechanistic evidence that the gut microbiota-SCFA axis mediates PeriMS improvement by APS. Mechanistic analysis linked PeriMS improvement to butyrate-producing bacteria, with butyrate playing a key role in gut health enhancement, which was verified by a sodium butyrate rescue experiment. These findings establish APS as a prebiotic, highlighting the gut microbiota-SCFA axis as a therapeutic target for PeriMS. This work provides novel evidence for microbiota-SCFA axis involvement in sow perinatal metabolic health, offering translational strategies to improve livestock metabolic health through APS supplementation.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In intensive pig farming, 40% of multiparous sows develop perinatal metabolic syndrome (PeriMS) around farrowing, causing $150\u2013$200 annual loss per sow due to inflammation (e.g., higher IL-6), oxidative stress, and extended weaning-to-estrus intervals (2.1 days). Gut dysfunction\u2014marked by fewer butyrate-producing bacteria and increased endotoxin\u2014triggers barrier damage and inflammation. Supplementing with Astragalus polysaccharides (APS, 10 g\/day) enhances beneficial bacteria like Muribaculaceae and butyrogenic Bacteroides, raising butyrate\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                      . In sows, APS lowers endotoxemia and gut inflammation (calprotectin), correlating with reduced postpartum IL-6 and reactive oxygen species. It also improves productivity: less backfat loss and heavier weaned piglets. By targeting gut-barrier crosstalk, APS breaks the inflammation-metabolism cycle, providing a sustainable alternative to antibiotics to enhance peripartum sow health and profitability.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/spectrum.03029-25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T13:02:01Z","timestamp":1781528521000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Astragalus polysaccharides ameliorate perinatal metabolic syndrome in sows via enhancing butyrate-producing bacteria"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8609-8824","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tianci","family":"Dai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/023b72294","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College 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