This study aims to investigate the anti-fatigue effects of crude Morchella polysaccharide (MP) extracted from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region in mice, and to preliminarily explore its potential mechanisms based on the gut microbiota-metabolite axis. Chemical analysis indicates that MP exhibits typical characteristics of crude polysaccharides: it consists of multiple monosaccharides (primarily glucose at 72.33%, along with mannose, galactose, etc) and possesses a broad molecular weight distribution (dispersion index (Mw/Mn) of 30.97). To investigate its material basis, we further isolated and purified the primary water-soluble neutral fraction MP1-1. Structural characterization confirmed MP1-1 as a homogeneous glucan composed solely of glucose units, with a backbone linked via →4)-α-D-Glcp-(1 → 4)-type bonds. A negative control group (NC), a positive control group (PC, Rhodiola glycoside,100 mg/kg), and low-, medium-, and high-dose MP groups (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) were established, with continuous gavage for four weeks. Following the final gavage, a weight-bearing swimming test was conducted to record the time to exhaustion and establish a fatigue model. Subsequently, fatigue-related biochemical indicators, gut microbiota composition, and metabolite changes were assessed. The results indicate that MP intervention is significantly associated with an anti-fatigue phenotype. This may occur through regulating the gut microbiota by enriching beneficial bacteria (such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) and suppressing harmful bacteria (such as Desulfovibrio and Helicobacter), thereby reshaping the intestinal microbiome. These alterations were associated with changes in the host’s metabolic profile, particularly the upregulation of energy metabolism pathways (e.g., β-alanine metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, glycerolipid metabolism) and the disruption of inflammation- and oxidative stress-related metabolic pathways. Ultimately, the MP intervention group exhibited increased glycogen reserves, enhanced antioxidant capacity (elevated SOD and GSH-Px; reduced MDA), and reduced systemic inflammation (decreased IL-6 and TNF-α; increased IL-10). Collectively, these effects delayed fatigue onset, promoted recovery, and significantly prolonged swimming duration. In summary, this study suggests that the polysaccharide extract from Morchella elata, native to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, may exert anti-fatigue effects by regulating the “gut microbiota-metabolite-host physiological phenotype” network, providing preliminary experimental evidence for its application in the functional food sector.
Liu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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