Prebiotic low methoxyl pectin-alginate for colon-targeted Companilactobacillus crustorum MN047 delivery in alleviating ulcerative colitis: Synergy and comparative analysis.

Probiotics and prebiotics show promise in alleviating ulcerative colitis (UC). This study compared pectin-based and alginate-based probiotic polysaccharide composite hydrogel beads (PPHB) with or without Companilactobacillus crustorum MN047, highlighted the functional properties of prebiotics used as delivery carriers. Although both systems showed different advantages in alleviating UC. Pectin-based PPHB reduced serum TNF-α (21.80 %) and enhanced the generation of acetic acid (15.78 % reduction) and propionic acid (34.07 % reduction), significantly outperforming the DSS group (57.80 % and 68.68 % reductions). In contrast, alginate-based PPHB better improved the intestinal barrier, promoted beneficial gut bacteria (NK4A214_group, Subdoligranulum, Phascolarctobacterium), and increased the levels of butyric acid (36.35 % reduction) and isovaleric acid (21.98 % reduction), significantly lower than that in the DSS group (60.17 % and 65.36 % reductions). However, no significant difference was observed in the reducing serum and colon IL-1β levels, serum and colon IL-6, and improving colonic SOD (13.66 %-18.27 %) and GSH levels (17.56 %-18.81 %). Notably, excessive probiotic encapsulation weakened the synergy between probiotics and prebiotic activity, suggesting that prioritizing prebiotic functional properties over high probiotic encapsulation efficiency could be critical. These findings advocate for optimizing prebiotic delivery systems to enhance UC management, shifting focus from maximizing probiotic survival to leveraging prebiotic-driven microbial and metabolic benefits.