It may be the gallery substrate, the weeding and grooming behaviour of Azteca brevis, some antspecific compounds or antifungal substances released from the fungi themselves that cause this inhibition. One indication that the construction material also shapes the fungal community on the galleries is the fact that 11 of 12 genotypes isolated from the samples collected from carton on a Lonchocarpus tree were unique and not present on the Tetrathylacium trees. Azteca brevis workers use particles of bark, excavated pith tissue and epiphylls from the host trees as materials for gallery construction, and plant secondary compounds may disfavour fungi other than Chaetothyriales. Furthermore, Azteca brevis was observed to groom the carton galleries constantly, and even to MK-1775 nourish them. Antibacterial and antifungal compounds produced by ants’ exocrine glands, such as the metapleural gland, may play an important role in preventing other moulds from growing. In contrast, Chaetothyriales are able to tolerate and even to metabolise aromatic hydrocarbons and can therefore cope and may even use ant-produced antifungal compounds metabolically. Finally, Chaetothyriales themselves might produce bioactive substances against competing fungi. The combination of these factors may account for the relationship between ants and those fungi. Accumulating data indicate that imbalance of gut bacteria not only contributes to gut dysfunction, chronic metabolic disorders and aging, but also plays an important role in memory and cognition dysfunction. Recent researches have reported that learning and memory abilities in mice are associated with diet-induced alterations in gut bacteria. C rodentium infection or high-fat diet resulted in memory impairment via disturbing the balance of gut bacteria, which were reversed by regulation of gut microbiota and colonic inflammatory. Moreover, McCarthy investigated the concomitant symptoms of dementia patients randomly in 20 health districts of England, and found that 85% of the patients suffered from gut dysfunction. Relieving symptoms of gut dysfunction such as constipation was beneficial to the attenuation of memory and cognition dysfunction in dementia patients. Therefore, modulation of gut microbiota and gut function may be the potential strategies for reversing learning and memory deficits and related diseases. Lotus seedpod, a part of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, contains an abundance of proanthocyanidins. It has been demonstrated that the main components in LSPC are monomers, dimers, trimers and tetramers of proanthocyanidins, in which dimers are the most component, and catechin and epicatechin are the base units. LSPC have been proven to possess a potent antioxidant activity, and ameliorate memory deficits and oxidative damage in scopolamine-induced amnesia mice, SAMP8 and cognitively impaired aged rats. However, there is no literature about the gut-regulation effect of LSPC. Previous studies have reported that proanthocyanidins B1 and B2, and proanthocyanidins in red wine modulate intestinal function by regulation of microbiota. Moreover, the oligomer and polymer of proanthocyanindins are poorly absorbed compared to the monomers in small intestine.