In vitro Intervention of Lactobacillus paracasei N1115 Can Alter Fecal Microbiota and Their SCFAs Metabolism of Pregnant Women with Constipation and Diarrhea

In vitro fermentation was used to evaluate the possible effects of intervention with Lactobacillus paracasei N1115 (LP N1115) on gut microbiota and metabolite shortchain fatty acids (SCFAs) in pregnant women with constipation and diarrhea. Feces were collected from pregnant women and fermented by YCFA medium to profile the changes in the gut microbiota before and after intervention with LP N1115 using 16SrRNA sequencing. At the same time, the changes in several specific bacteria were detected using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and the SCFAs in fermentation were detected using gas chromatography (GC) for each subject to determine the effect of the intervention. In vitro intervention with LP N1115 significantly increased the relative abundances of Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and Bifidobacterium in constipated pregnant women and reduced the contents of acetic acid, propanoic acid. Moreover, 16S rRNA gene analysis showed that LP N1115 also reduced the relative abundance of Clostridium_XI. The results of this study suggest that LP N1115 might increase the content of beneficial bacteria and reduce the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria, which might be beneficial to gut health in pregnant women.