Crafting probiotics a self-polymerized smart outfit for effective ulcerative colitis treatment

Probiotic therapy has recently emerged as a promising approach for ulcerative colitis (UC) treatment. However, oral probiotic therapy is often hindered by challenges such as inferior colonization at lesion sites, where elevated intestinal hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) level exacerbates epithelial barrier disruption. Moreover, without adjunct drugs, probiotics alone struggle to mitigate oxidative stress and persistent inflammation effectively. To address these issues, an alkali-labile polymerized ferulic acid (pFA) outfit was developed through a self-polymerization strategy, designed to both shield probiotics and relieve intestinal symptoms. Zinc ions were further incorporated as an H₂S scavenger, enhancing the probiotic colonization and promoting gut microbiota restoration. Thus, the synthesized probiotics (designated as Lac@FZ) notably ameliorated UC severity, including relieving inflammation, alleviating oxidative stress, and restoring intestinal barrier and microbiota. This study paves a novel way for designing a boosted probiotic therapeutic for UC treatments, while also inspiring the development of other polyphenol-based functional nanoplatforms via self-polymerization.