Effect of Probiotic Product Containing Heyndrickxia coagulans TBC169 on Hyperuricemia in Rats

Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a metabolic disease characterized by elevated serum uric acid, which is closely related to the gut microbiota. Probiotics have great potential in improving HUA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect and mechanism of probiotic product (SQK) containing Heyndrickxia coagulans TBC169 on HUA rats. Forty SD rats (6 weeks old, 200 ± 20 g) were randomly divided into four groups (Ctrl group, HUA group, SQK1 group, and SQK2 group) of 10 rats each. Rats were given potassium oxonate (100 mg potassium oxonate/100 g BW/day) for 12 weeks to establish HUA model and simultaneously administered with sterile saline (HUA group) or different dose of SQK (SQK1 group, 20.48 mg SQK/100 g BW/day; SQK2 group, 40.95 mg SQK/100 g BW/day) throughout the 12 weeks. The results showed that SQK could degrade uric acid precursors and inhibit the xanthine oxidase (XOD) activity in vitro. Oral supplementation of SQK can reverse the increase of serum uric acid, the increase of the liver and serum XOD activity, and the decrease of ABCG2 expression in the ileum induced by HUA. In addition, SQK could restore the changes in α and β diversity of the ileal microbiota and prevent the increase in pathogenic Helicobacter and Staphylococcus caused by HUA. 16S rRNA sequencing and correlation analysis showed that the chondroitin sulfate (CS) degradation pathway of the gut microbiota played a key role in the prevention of HUA in the SQK group. These findings suggest that SQK may improve HUA by reducing uric acid synthesis and increasing uric acid excretion and provide a basis for its development into a probiotic product to improve HUA.