Trusting My Gut: Inulin’s Impact on Anxiety and Fecal Droppings by Jessica Joseph

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I last shared a blog post. These past few weeks, full of enriching learning experiences, have flown by so quickly! I am glad to be a part of this program because I have made many friends along this journey and found new interests that I hadn’t considered before.

​A few weeks ago, I started my introductory experiment, in which I studied the effects of Vitamin D3 and intestinal inflammation (induced by Dawn Soap) on adult male fly motility. I gained experience and knowledge in conducting the Negative Geotaxis Assay to quantify drosophila locomotion, different forms of intestinal inflammation, Vitamin D3’s role as a dietary supplement used in treating gastrointestinal diseases, and much more! From the experimental data, I found that Vitamin D3, despite its beneficial properties, decreased fly motility compared to that of the control group. This made me wonder if these results indicated the concentration of Vitamin D3 being too high or if it was because the drug was consumed alone 24/7 by the flies and thus triggering a reverse effect on gut health. The stressor, in this case soap, had significantly decreased fly activity. Which makes sense because soap can trigger symptoms like intestinal inflammation and cause damage to the digestive system, as a result affecting fly health and activity. And finally, when combining both the drug and stressor, I concluded that vitamin D3 ameliorated the effects of the soap on the flies’ locomotion. The data showed that Vitamin D3 had increased motility when added with the soap. By understanding these outcomes and expanding my perspective on the digestive process, I have become invested in exploring the branch of gut health!

---

I am so grateful for the learning opportunities from these past few weeks as I have refined skills in micro pipetting, calculating solutions and dilutions, creating and importing graphs using Google Sheets and Excel, and understanding error bars. And throughout the program, all the mentors have been kind in guiding, giving feedback, and brainstorming ideas. It’s exhilarating to be a part of this program and build numerous relationships with people of similar interests. With the conclusion of the Kickoff experiment, I am eager to begin my independent project!

​Diving further into my newly found interest in gut health, I have decided to study the effect of Chicory Root Fiber (Inulin) on fly anxiety and fecal droppings. Recently, I had faced bowel movement issues like constipation, which took a toll on my body physically and mentally. It felt as if I were a soda geyser, loaded with coke and mentos, waiting to erupt, except the soda bottle cap was closed shut. This made me feel more uneasy and worried about my health. Not long ago I talked to my parents about the pain I was going through. At the moment, all I could do was lie in bed and be comforted by my mom. Despite the winter storm and snow accumulation later that night, my dad rushed to Wegmans to buy me some laxatives and fiber supplements. My parents’ love and support encouraged me to take care of my health and act. I started taking those fiber supplement gummies daily, and since then, I have been feeling a lot better with improved bowel movements. This might be because of the supplement containing Inulin, a prebiotic known to help with constipation and improve gut health. This inspired me to study the mental effects Inulin had on flies. If it improved gut health would this correlate to a better mood or less anxiety? I hope that by quantifying centrophobism and the number of fecal droppings along the walls of vials, I’ll be able to understand the role of Inulin in alleviating anxiety and increasing the frequency in excreting fecal matter.

---