COLONIC INFLAMMATION IS A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH THREAT. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT COLONIC INFLAMMATION MAY BE PREVENTED BY INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF CERTAIN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES SUCH AS BERRIES. WHOLE STRAWBERRY CONTAINS VARIOUS POTENTIAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY COMPONENTS. HOWEVER, THERE IS NO DETAILED MECHANISTIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE OVERALL PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF WHOLE STRAWBERRY AGAINST COLON INFLAMMATION. OUR METABOLOMIC ANALYSIS AND FECAL TRANSPLANT STUDY IN MICE DEMONSTRATED THAT GUT MICROBIOTA DYSBIOSIS LED TO COLONIC INFLAMMATION. MOREOVER, WE FOUND THAT ORAL CONSUMPTION OF WHOLE STRAWBERRY INHIBITED COLONIC INFLAMMATION IN MICE, AND THE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF WHOLE STRAWBERRY MIGHT BE THROUGH AMELIORATING GUT MICROBIOTA DYSBIOSIS-INDUCED INFLAMMATION IN THE COLON. OUR FINDINGS PROVIDED A NOVEL MECHANISM BY WHICH WHOLE STRAWBERRY INHIBITS COLONIC INFLAMMATION, AS WELL AS A STRONG SCIENTIFIC BASIS TO USE STRAWBERRY TO PROMOTE COLON HEALTH. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECTIS TO UTILIZE TWO IMPORTANT MOUSE MODELS (NAMELY HIGH-FAT DIET-FED MICE AND IL-10 KNOCKOUT MICE) OF COLONIC INFLAMMATION TO ESTABLISH THE EFFICACY OF WHOLE STRAWBERRY IN INHIBITING COLONIC INFLAMMATION AND ELUCIDATE THE ROLE OF GUT MICROBIOTA IN MEDIATING THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF STRAWBERRY IN THE COLON. THE FINDINGS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL HELP GAIN NEW KNOWLEDGE OF HOW WHOLE FOOD SUCH AS BERRIES PROMOTE COLON HEALTH, AND HOW THE BIOACTIVE COMPONENTS OF THE BERRIES FIGHT AGAINST COLONIC INFLAMMATION. THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL SERVE AS AN INDISPENSABLE BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE WHOLE-FOOD-BASED STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING COLON HEALTH, WHICH CAN BE VALIDATED BY FUTURE HUMAN TRIALS. THE APPROACH USED IN THIS STUDY CAN ALSO BE APPLIED TO STUDIES ON OTHER RELATED FOOD COMPONENTS.