Fruit and vegetable supplemented-diet ameliorates dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) -induced colitis by modulating gut metagenome and host intestinal function

Authors: Solano Aguilar, Gloria; Lakshman, Sukla; Chen, Celine; Beshah, Ethiopia; Molokin, Aleksey; Vinyard, Bryan; Dawson, Harry; Santin, Monica; BRUNA, GONZALO - Supplies, Studies, And Services For Agriculture And Animals (SEYSA); Smith, Allen; Urban Jr, Joseph

Submitted to: Nutrients
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/2/2026
Publication Date: 3/16/2026
Citation: Solano Aguilar, G., Lakshman, S., Chen, C.T., Beshah, E., Molokin, A., Vinyard, B.T., Dawson, H.D., Santin, M., Bruna, G., Smith, A.D., Urban Jr, J.F. 2026. Fruit and vegetable supplemented-diet ameliorates dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) -induced colitis by modulating gut metagenome and host intestinal function. Nutrients. 18(6):937. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18060937.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18060937

Interpretive Summary: There is a need to identify relationships that support the benefit of consuming dietary patterns rich in fruit and vegetables (FV) at recommended levels to promote health. Thirty- six-week-old female pigs were fed a grower diet alone (control) or supplemented with lyophilized FV equivalent to the half (half-FV) or full (full-FV) daily recommended amount for humans per the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). After three weeks on dietary intervention, pigs were orally treated with 4% Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS) for one week to induce colitis and observed for recovery for four additional days. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing from proximal colon (PC) contents, and gene expression changes in proximal colon mucosa (PCM) were analyzed to identify relationship of dietary FV levels with responsive host clinical signs. Pigs with full-FV dietary supplementation showed resistance to DSS-induced PC mucosal damage with no alteration in crypt depth, no differential gene expression and no change in bacterial diversity when compared to non-DSS treated pigs. Pigs within the half-FV group exhibited increased expression of genes associated with tissue regeneration in PCM and no changes in PC bacterial diversity relative to the negative control group (p<0.05). However, pigs within the DSS positive control group exhibited a reduced PCM expression of several genes involved in cell detoxification and reduced PC microbiome diversity relative to negative control group (p<0.05). Using the pig as a translational nutrition animal model, we have shown that FV-supplemented-diets, ameliorate DSS-induced inflammatory response that leads to intestinal colitis.

Technical Abstract: The impact of feeding fruits and vegetables (FV) as a dietary supplement, on the response to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, was evaluated using a pig model. Six-week-old female White Yorkshire x Landrace pigs were fed either an isocaloric grower diet alone or supplemented with lyophilized FV equivalent to the half (half-FV) or full (full-FV) daily levels recommended for humans by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). After three weeks of dietary intervention, pigs were divided in four groups and fed a 1) grower diet alone (negative control), 2) grower diet and orally treated with 4% DSS solution for 10 days to induce colitis (positive control), 3) half-FV diet treated with DSS or 4) full-FV diet treated with DSS. Clinical signs were observed for fourteen days after DSS treatment. Proximal colon (PC) contents and mucosa (PCM) were collected for gut metagenome, tissue transcriptome and histopathological analysis. The pigs fed the full-FV diet and DSS treated did not exhibit clinical signs of colitis (diarrhea) or histological changes in PCM, and no differential gene expression in the PCM or changes in PC microbiome alpha diversity, when compared to pigs in the negative control group (p < 0.05). Pigs within the half-FV group exhibited increased expression of genes associated with tissue remodeling in PCM and no changes in PC bacterial diversity relative to the negative control group (p < 0.05) with two pigs exhibiting diarrhea for one day. Pigs within the DSS positive control group exhibited a reduced PCM expression of several genes involved in cell detoxification and reduced PC microbiome diversity relative to negative control group (p < 0.05) with one of eight pigs exhibiting diarrhea for six consecutive days. Overall, our results showed that pigs fed a three-week full-FV supplemented diet were resistant to DSS-induced colitis, with maintenance of bacterial diversity and metabolic function in both FV treated groups and had gene expression changes associated with tissue remodeling in PCM of half-FV diet fed pigs and no change in PCM transcriptome of full-FV fed pigs. These results suggested that dietary supplementation with FVs provided a protective effect on host intestinal tissue when exposed to an inflammatory challenge.