Salidroside (SAL) has a protective effect on multiple organ systems. Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in the atmosphere may lead to disruptions in gut microbiota and impact intestinal health. The regulatory effect of SAL on the gut microbiota of mice exposed to PM_2.5 requires further investigation.

To evaluate gut microbiota disruption in mice after being exposed to PM_2.5 and the potential effect of SAL.

Forty male C57BL/6 mice, aged 6 to 8 weeks, were randomly divided into four groups: a control group, an SAL group, a PM_2.5 group, and an SAL+PM_2.5 group, each containing 10 mice. In the SAL group and the SAL+PM_2.5 group, the mice were administered SAL (60 mg·kg⁻¹) by gavage, while in the control group and the PM_2.5 group, sterile saline (10 mL·kg⁻¹) was administered by gavage. In the PM_2.5 group and the SAL+PM_2.5 group, PM_2.5 suspension (8 mg·kg⁻¹) was intratracheally instilled, and in the control group and SAL group, sterile saline (1.5 mL·kg⁻¹) was intratracheally administered. Each experiment cycle spanned 2 d, with a total of 10 cycles conducted over 20 d. Histopathological changes in the ileum tissue of the mice were observed after HE staining. Colon contents were collected for gut microbiota sequencing and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) measurements.

The PM_2.5 group showed infiltration of inflammatory cells in the ileum tissue, while the SAL+PM_2.5 group exhibited only a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration. Compared to the control group, the PM_2.5 group showed decreased Shannon index (P<0.05) and increased Simpson index (P<0.05), indicating that the diversity of gut microbiota in this group was decreased; the SAL+PM_2.5 group showed increased Shannon index compared to the PM_2.5 group (P<0.05) and decreased Simpson index (P<0.05), indicating that the diversity of gut microbiota in mice intervened with SAL was increased. The principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) revealed a significant separation between the PM_2.5 group and the control group, while the separation trend was less evident among the control group, the SAL group, and the SAL+PM_2.5 group. The unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) clustering tree results showed that the control group and the SAL group clustered together first, followed by clustering with the SAL+PM_2.5 group, and finally, the three groups clustered with the PM_2.5 group. The PCoA and UPGMA clustering results indicated that the uniformity and similarity of the microbiota in the PM_2.5 group were significantly decreased. Compared to the control group, the PM_2.5 group showed decreased abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes and Candidatus_Saccharimonas (P<0.05) and increased abundance of phylum Proteobacteria, genus Escherichia, genus Bacteroides, genus Prevotella, genus Enterococcus, and genus Proteus (P<0.05). Compared to the PM_2.5 group, the SAL+PM_2.5 group showed decreased abundance of phylum Proteobacteria, phylum Actinobacteria, genus Prevotella, and genus Proteus (P<0.05), and increased abundance of Candidatus_Saccharimonas (P<0.05). The PM_2.5 group showed reduced levels of propionic acid, valeric acid, and hexanoic acid compared to the control group (P<0.05), while the SAL+PM_2.5 group showed increased levels of propionic acid, isobutyric acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, and hexanoic acid compared to the PM_2.5 group (P<0.05).

Exposure to PM_2.5 can cause pathological alterations, microbial dysbiosis, and disturbing production of SCFAs in intestinal tissue in mice. However, SAL can provide a certain degree of protective effect against these changes.