| Summary: | Prodigiosin is a red pigment produced by <i>Serratia marcescens</i> with anticancer, antimalarial, and antibacterial effects. In this study, we extracted and identified a red pigment from a culture of <i>S. marcescens</i> strain ZPG19 and investigated its effect on the growth performance and intestinal microbiota of Kunming mice. High-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry revealed that the pigment had a mass-to-charge ratio (<i>m</i>/<i>z</i>) of 324.2160, and thus it was identified as prodigiosin. To investigate the effect of prodigiosin on the intestinal microbiota, mice (n = 5) were administered 150 μg/kg/d prodigiosin (crude extract, 95% purity) via the drinking water for 18 days. Administration of prodigiosin did not cause toxicity in mice. High-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that prodigiosin altered the cecum microbiota abundance and diversity; the relative abundance of <i>Desulfovibrio</i> significantly decreased, whereas <i>Lactobacillus reuteri</i> significantly increased. This finding indicates that oral administration of prodigiosin has a beneficial effect on the intestinal microbiota of mice. As prodigiosin is non-toxic to mouse internal organs and improves the mouse intestinal microbiota, we suggest that it is a promising candidate drug to treat intestinal inflammation.
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