Effects of Saccharomyces boulardii on the characteristics and metabolomics of the gut microbiota in patients with liver cirrhosis

Background : Metabolism serves an important role in the gut microbiota and regulating the progression of liver cirrhosis. The present study investigated the characteristics of the gut microbiota and associated metabolites in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods : The characteristics of the gut microbiota and fecal metabolites in patients with liver cirrhosis from January 2019 to December 2022 were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomics with bioinformatic analysis. The effect of Saccharomyces boulardii on the gut microbiota and phenotype of patients with liver cirrhosis was examined. Results : It was demonstrated that there was a low similarity and diversity of the gut microbiota in the patients with liver cirrhosis compared with the normal group. Microorganisms such as Veillonella , Streptococcus , Blautia and Faecalibacterium were significantly correlated with the liver function index, which may serve an important role in abnormal amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism associated with liver cirrhosis progression, as demonstrated through functional prediction and metabolomics. The abnormal intestinal microorganism and serum ammonia levels was decreased in patients with liver cirrhosis after S. boulardii treatment. Conclusion : Therefore, the abnormal amino acid metabolism and serum ammonia levels were induced by gut microbiota disorder in patients with liver cirrhosis and probiotic treatment alleviated this.