{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T16:25:40Z","timestamp":1787934340087,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756166400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32100054"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32100054"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Alcohol abuse and alcoholic liver diseases (ALD) are globally prevalent, with alcohol-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis playing a key role in ALD pathogenesis. Synbiotic (combinations of probiotics and prebiotics) are recognized as effective in reducing inflammation in ALD. Bacillus coagulans, a probiotic with favorable industrial and functional traits (e.g., sporulation, lactic acid production), shows potential in treating intestinal diseases. Here, we investigated the effects of B. coagulans, alone or combined with pectin, on ethanol-induced ALD in mice. Synbiotic supplementation (B. coagulans + pectin) more significantly alleviated ethanol-induced ALD severity than B. coagulans or pectin alone. Relative to the ethanol group, synbiotic treatment significantly reduced hepatic inflammatory injury and lipid accumulation, downregulated proinflammatory factors (TNF-\u03b1, IL-1\u03b2, myeloperoxidase [MPO]), and upregulated tight junction proteins and mucins\u2014enhancing intestinal barrier function. Moreover, these supplements modulated gut microbiota composition and enhanced short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production by increasing the abundance of beneficial SCFA-producing bacteria (Muribaculaceae, Akkermansia). In summary, changes in tight junction proteins, cytokines and hepatic injury markers indicate that the synbiotic alleviated overall inflammation in the experimental ALD model and exerted a greater therapeutic effect than B. coagulans or pectin alone.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms13091986","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T10:35:17Z","timestamp":1756204517000},"page":"1986","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Bacillus coagulans\u2013Pectin Synbiotic Modulates Gut Microbiota Composition and Attenuates Ethanol-Induced Alcoholic Liver Disease in Mice"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Zhenzhen","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Anti-Infective Agent Creation Engineering Research Centre of Sichuan Province, Antibiotics Research and Re-Evaluation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Industrial Institute of Antibiotics, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tong","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yurong","family":"Fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ziyang","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-pathmechdis-031521-030435","article-title":"Recent Advances in Understanding of Pathogenesis of Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease","volume":"18","author":"Wu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Annu. 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