Impact of carbamate and pyrethroid pesticides on bile acid profiles in an in vitro gut microbiota model

The impact on the microbial community following exposure to commonly used pesticides has recently gained increasing interest. In this study, effects of selected carbamates (carbofuran, aldicarb) and pyrethroids (cypermethrin and cyhalothrin) on gut microbiota and related bile acid metabolism were quantified using a 24 h in vitro fermentation model system with mice feces. The results obtained reveal a pesticide induced significant increase the ratio of secondary over primary bile acids, particularly resulting from the enrichment of β-muricholate (βMCA) accompanied by the depletion of ω-muricholate (ωMCA). Besides, the bacterial profile showed significantly increased richness of Eggerthellaceae after 24 h exposure to carbofuran and cyhalothrin, and the genera Enterorhabdus belonging to Eggerthellaceae was found to be highly correlated to the fecal bile acid profile. In conclusion, in an in vitro gut microbial model carbamates and pyrethroids caused alterations of the gut microbial community resulting in the modulation of bile acid transformation. This illustrates that the gut microbiota and its metabolism may be a novel target to consider in future pesticide safety evaluations.