Food Science and Human Wellness · Oct 30, 2026
Swim Bladder Glue Prevents Osteoporosis Progression: Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Mechanisms
By Huang Y, Song B, Cai H et al.
Abstract Although mammalian gelatin-based traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) exhibit anti-osteoporotic potential, their clinical use is limited by zoonotic risks and unsustainable sourcing. We developed an innovative fish swim bladder glue (SBG) inspired by the traditional E’Jiao (EJ) preparation process, which has been shown to enhance bone mineral density (BMD) in ovariectomized (OVX) mice, but its osteoporosis-preventive efficacy and underlying mechanism remain unelucidated. Our results revealed that SBG administration improved femoral microstructure and alleviated osteoporosis by enhancing osteogenic activity, suppressing bone resorption, and reducing inflammatory factor levels, effects that neither swim bladder collagen (SBC) nor EJ could exert. Gut microbiota analysis showed that SBG counteracted ovariectomy-induced gut dysbiosis by reducing harmful bacteria such as Alistipes and enriching beneficial probiotics such as Prevotellaceae UCG-001. Meanwhile, metabolomic analysis indicated that SBG altered serum metabolic profiles, particularly in amino acid and lipid metabolism. Mantel and Spearman correlation analyses confirmed that the key gut bacterial taxa modulated by SBG were strongly associated with differential serum metabolites, and both were significantly correlated with bone phenotypes and inflammatory status. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that SBG alleviates osteoporosis by modulating the gut microbiota and regulating serum metabolism, supporting our proposition that SBG represents a novel, safe, and effective functional candidate for osteoporosis prevention.