Enhancing the Adhesion/Colonization Efficacy of Probiotics by Polysaccharide Surface Decoration for Remission from Ulcerative Colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease in the colon, with a rising global incidence. Probiotics have been explored for treat UC due to their regulation roles on the gut microbiota. However, issues such as low survival rate, limited colonization time, and poor therapeutic effects have been observed following the oral administration of free probiotics. Thus, techniques for surface modification of probiotics have emerged to enhance the adhesion of encapsulation materials at inflammation sites, thereby to improve the retention time of probiotics and their therapeutic effects on UC. Here, we investigated the altered physio-biochemistry environments in the gastrointestinal tract of UC patients, and the factors influencing the molecular interactions between probiotics and the mucosa. We also clarified that encapsulation materials such as chitosan, sodium alginate, and thiolated hyaluronic acid could target the colon wall through electrostatic adsorption, hydrogen bonding, or the formation of disulfide bonds, thereby elongating the adhesion time of probiotics in the intestine. Additionally, the degradation patterns, potential beneficial or harmful impacts of these encapsulation materials were summarized. Finally, the current status of probiotics and polysaccharide-based treatments for UC in clinical trials were discussed. This research will facilitate the preparation of probiotic microcapsules with colon adhesion properties and also provide recommendations for the clinical application of encapsulation materials.