Chromium has become increasingly hazard due to its strong carcinogenicity; effective therapeutic options for managing such injuries remain limited. We examined the effect of the polysaccharide of Xizang Coriolus versicolor (CV) on spleen damage in mice exposed to chromium. Mice (n=30) were divided into KCH, KMH, and KYH groups. Group KMH and KYH were induced by K₂Cr₂O₇ (15 mg/kg), and KYH was administered with 50 mg/kg CV polysaccharide for 35 days. We found that the weight of mice in the KMH group was significantly lower than in the KCH (P<0.05) and KYH (P<0.05) on the 35^th day, while the spleen index in KMH was higher than that of animals in other groups (P<0.05). H&E and Sirius red staining showed that hexavalent chromium led to serious atrophy of white pulp and acini lienal, blurry marginal zone, and infiltration of inflammatory cells in mice; however, mice supplemented with CV polysaccharide had clear red and white pulp, fewer inflammatory cells, and decreased fibrosis. CV polysaccharide decreased serum IL-6 (P<0.01), IL-1β (P<0.001), TNF-α (P<0.001), and MDA (P<0.001), while increasing IL-10 (P<0.01), T-AOC (P<0.001), and GSH-Px (P<0.001) in mice. Microbiota sequencing achieved 1,383,401 filtered sequences and found two phyla and nine genera with significant differences among the three groups. Genera were Dwaynesavagella, Streptococcus, UBA7173, QWKK01, Bifidobacterium 388775, Lactococcus A 343473, Gemella, and Bacillus P 294101. In summary, we confirmed that the polysaccharide of Xizang Coriolus versicolor could alleviate spleen damage in mice exposed to chromium by regulating inflammatory response, antioxidant capacity, and gut microbiota.

To Cite This Article: Chen S, Xu C, Huang Y, Lv Q, Momenah MA, Eman AA and Li K, 2026. Polysaccharide of Xizang Coriolus versicolor mitigates spleen damage in mice exposed to chromium by regulating gut microbiota. Pak Vet J, 46(2): 419-428. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2026.030