Exopolysaccharides produced by Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG alleviate hydrogen peroxide-induced intestinal oxidative damage and apoptosis through the Keap1/Nrf2 and Bax/Bcl-2 pathways in vitro.

The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) on the antioxidative and antiapoptotic activities of intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2). EPSs exhibited promising antioxidative activities, such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, hydroxyl radical (˙OH) and superoxide anion radical (O2˙-) scavenging, as well as ferrous ion chelating ability. Moreover, EPSs of LGG could effectively alleviate the IPEC-J2 oxidative damage induced by H2O2 through the Bcl-2-associated (Bax)/B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1)/nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) signaling pathways and up-regulated the intracellular tight junction (TJ)-related proteins. In addition, EPSs significantly improved the survival rates of H2O2-damaged IPEC-J2 cells and had no cytotoxic activity, suggesting that EPSs produced by LGG may be an effective drug for relieving oxidative stress. Our study provided a theoretical basis for exploration of the application of probiotic secondary metabolites in practice.