Evidence mapPaperPMID 39809740Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Selective utilization of medicinal polysaccharides by human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species.

Zepeng Qu, Hongbin Liu, Ji Yang, Linggang Zheng, Jumin Huang, Ziming Wang, Chun Xie, Wenlong Zuo, Xiong Xia, Lin Sun and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. PeerJ · 2026
    Article
  17. Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Zepeng Qu *School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine & State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-2443-5383
Hongbin Liu *CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5840-2374
Ji Yang *School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China.
Linggang ZhengSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine & State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau, China.
Jumin HuangCancer Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ministry of Education (MOE) Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Macau, Macau, SAR, China.
Ziming WangCancer Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ministry of Education (MOE) Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Macau, Macau, SAR, China.
Chun XieCancer Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ministry of Education (MOE) Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Macau, Macau, SAR, China.
Wenlong ZuoCAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6557-410X
Xiong XiaCAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
Lin SunJilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Biology of Changbai Mountain Natural Drugs, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China.
Yifa ZhouJilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Biology of Changbai Mountain Natural Drugs, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China.
Ying XieState Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Jingguang LuSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine & State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau, China.
Yizhun ZhuSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine & State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau, China.
Lili YuSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine & State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau, China.
Lihua LiuSchool of Economics and Management, Yanbian University, Yanji, China.
Hua ZhouState Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. gutcmzhs@hotmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7025-3690
Lei DaiCAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China. lei.dai@siat.ac.cn.
Elaine Lai-Han LeungCancer Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ministry of Education (MOE) Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Macau, Macau, SAR, China. lhleung@um.edu.mo.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3705-8084

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species play crucial roles in human health and are known for their capacity to utilize diverse polysaccharides. Understanding how these bacteria utilize medicinal polysaccharides is foundational for developing polysaccharides-based prebiotics and drugs. Here, we systematically mapped the utilization profiles of 20 different medicinal polysaccharides by 28 human gut Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species. The growth profiles exhibited substantial variation across different bacterial species and medicinal polysaccharides. Ginseng polysaccharides promoted the growth of multiple Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species; in contrast, Dendrobium polysaccharides selectively promoted the growth of Bacteroides uniformis. This distinct utilization profile was associated with genomic variation in carbohydrate-active enzymes, rather than monosaccharides composition variation among medicinal polysaccharides. Through comparative transcriptomics and genetical manipulation, we validated that the polysaccharide utilization locus PUL34_Bu enabled Bacteroides uniformis to utilize Dendrobium polysaccharides (i.e. glucomannan). In addition, we found that the GH26 enzyme in PUL34_Bu allowed Bacteroides uniformis to utilize multiple plant-derived mannan. Overall, our results revealed the selective utilization of medicinal polysaccharide by Bacteroides and Parabacteroides species and provided insights into the use of polysaccharides in engineering the human gut microbiome.

Indexed as

BacteroidesBacteroidetesGastrointestinal MicrobiomePolysaccharidesDendrobiumHumansPrebioticsPolysaccharidesPrebiotics

Identifiers

PMID39809740
PMCPMC11733155

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.