3'-Sialyllactose (3'-SL) is a naturally occurring prebiotic in milk, known to regulate intestinal microbiota and prevent diseases. However, the mechanisms through which 3'-SL alleviates antibiotic-associated diarrhea remain poorly understood. In this study, an antibiotic-associated diarrhea model was established through the co-administration of ampicillin and neomycin. The effects of 3'-SL supplementation on diarrhea phenotype, inflammation, intestinal permeability, and barrier function were examined in antibiotic-associated diarrhea-model mice. Moreover, gut microbiota composition, metabolite profiles, and their alterations were analyzed using genomic and metabolomic approaches. The results demonstrate that 3'-SL increased body weight and aquaporin (AQP) 3 and AQP4 levels but reduced diarrhea rate, cecal mass, and fecal water content in the model mice, indicating its therapeutic effect on diarrhea. Furthermore, 3'-SL reduced serum levels of IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-1β, while increasing IL-10 levels in the mice. Moreover, 3'-SL reduced intestinal permeability by enhancing both the mechanical barrier (ZO-1 and occludin mRNA expression) and the chemical barrier (MUC2 mRNA and protein expression) in the mice. 16S rRNA analysis revealed that mice in the 3'-SL group exhibited greater abundances of Akkermansia, Bacteroides, and Dubosiella, along with a reduced relative abundance of the diarrhea-associated bacterium Alloprevotella. Furthermore, metabolomics analysis indicated that 3'-SL promoted enrichment of purine metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and the pentose phosphate pathway, which may be associated with diarrhea development, inflammation amelioration, and barrier regulation. In conclusion, our findings suggest that 3'-SL ameliorates antibiotic-associated diarrhea by modulating gut microbiota and metabolite profiles.
Keywords: 3′-sialyllactose; antibiotic-associated diarrhea; gut microbiome; metabolomics.
© 2026, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).