Spirulina active substance mediated gut microbes improve lipid metabolism in high-fat diet fed rats

Alleviation of High-Fat Diet-Induced Hyperlipidemia in Mice by Stachys sieboldii Miq. Huangjiu via the Modulation of Gut Microbiota Composition and Metabolic Function

Hyperlipidemia is a chronic disease that is difficult to cure, and long-term pharmacotherapy may have negative consequences. Dietary therapy is a very promising strategy, and Chinese rice wine (Huangjiu) will play an important role because of its many biologically active components. In this work, the alleviating effect of Stachys sieboldii Miq. Huangjiu (CSCHJ) on high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia in mice was investigated, which is brewed from the wheat Qu with the addition of Stachys sieboldii Miq. and contains 15.54 g/L of polysaccharides. The experimental results showed that CSCHJ inhibited appetite, reduced body weight and blood sugar levels, and downregulated the serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) while concurrently upregulating high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia mice. At the same time, it was discovered that alcohol worsens hyperlipidemia symptoms and related physiological markers, implying that CSCHJ polysaccharides may play a role in hyperlipidemia treatment. Through the assessment of organ indices, liver and kidney function, and tissue staining, CSCHJ demonstrated efficacy in repairing liver, kidney, and colon mucosal damage in hyperlipidemic mice. Furthermore, 16S rDNA sequencing and gas chromatography studies revealed that CSCHJ effectively restored the intestinal microbial structure and enhanced the quantity of fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in hyperlipidemic mice. Therefore, the alleviating effect of CSCHJ on hyperlipidemia in mice may be attributed to its regulation of energy metabolism by repairing liver, kidney, and colon mucosal damage and restoring the gut microbiota structure, among other mechanisms. Overall, our findings provide evidence that CSCHJ contains active ingredients capable of alleviating hyperlipidemia, thereby laying a theoretical foundation for the extraction of bioactive substances from Huangjiu for future medical or dietary use.

Effects of hazelnut soluble dietary fiber on lipid-lowering and gut microbiota in high-fat-diet-fed rats

Hazelnut is one of the most popular nuts in the world, rich in nutrients and various active substances. In this study, soluble dietary fiber (SDF) was extracted from hazelnut kernels, and its physicochemical properties and absorbability were explored. Hazelnut-SDF exhibited ideal water-holding, oil-holding and swelling capacity, and glucose, cholesterol and cholate absorbing ability. Scanning electron microscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that hazelnut-SDF had typical polysaccharide structure of functional groups. The main monosaccharides were identified as arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, ribose, glucuronic acid, mannose and glucose by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In high-fat diet rats, hazelnut-SDF could improve serum lipid parameters, inhibit lipid accumulation in liver and adipocytes, and regulate the expression level of liver lipid synthesis-related genes. It also could adjust intestinal short chain fatty acids, promote the composition and structure of intestinal microbiota, and significantly balance the abundance of Alloprevotella, Fusicatenibacter, Lactobacillus, Roseburia, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014 and Clostridiales. The results concluded that oral administration of hazelnut-SDF could alleviate hyperlipidemia and obesity, and might serve as a potential functional food ingredient.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Spirulina platensis on the Immune System, Intestinal Bacterial Microbiome and Skin Traits of Mink

The impact of dietary inclusion of Spirulina platensis on the immune system, intestinal microbiome and skin of mink was investigated. Forty-eight animals were equally separated into four groups. Groups B and D were control animals, while groups A and C had their feed supplemented daily with 100 mg/kg of body weight Spirulina. Mink in groups A and B were descended from dams supplemented with spirulina during their reproductive period, while those in groups C and D were descended from dams fed the control diets. Fur growth rate and quality were graded semi-quantitatively. Fecal microbiome analysis, skin thickness histomorphometry, immunohistochemical labeling and counts of immune cells in the colon, mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen and quantitative gene expression analysis of cytokines in the colon were performed. Skin thickness, fur growth rate and skin quality were similar among groups (p > 0.05). However, differences were observed among groups concerning the relative and differential abundance of bacterial species. Tgf-β expression was lower in group A, whereas IL-β1 was lower in group C compared to group B (p < 0.05). Group D had significantly lower numbers of inflammatory cells in the colon and mesenteric lymph nodes. The results revealed that Spirulina decreased indices of subclinical inflammation in mink gut, while differences in the bacterial communities among groups were observed.

Hawthorn fruit acid consumption attenuates hyperlipidemia-associated oxidative damage in rats

Context

Hyperlipidemia is a highly prevalent risk factor for atherosclerosis and stroke. The currently available medications used to treat Hyperlipidemia cannot improve its oxidative stress damage. Consumption of hawthorn can regulate blood sugar and blood lipids, and its rich fruit acid is a natural antioxidant that can improve oxidative stress damage.

Objective

The present research aimed to investigate the protective effect of hawthorn fruit acid (HFA) on hyperlipidemia and to determine its potential molecular mechanism.

Materials and methods

Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce hyperlipidemia and treated orally with hawthorn fruit acids (HFA). Serum and liver levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), superoxide dismutase (SOD), hydrogen peroxide (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. Human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG2) cells were treated with 0.1 mM oleic acid and HFA (0.125, 0.25 mg/mL), and intracellular TC, TG, HDL-C, SOD, CAT and MDA were measured. Changes in LDLR, HMGCR, Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1 protein and gene expression were analyzed by Western blot and qPCR.

Results

This study found that HFA treatment effectively reduced the level of triglyceride, cholesterol, and glucose, and attenuated hepatic steatosis in rats. Additionally, oxidative stress damage of rats was effectively reduced by treatment with HFA. Western blot and qPCR analysis indicated that HFA treatment inhibited fat accumulation in HepG2 cells by upregulating LDLR and downregulating HMGCR gene expression. HFA inhibits oleic acid (OA)-induced oxidative damage to HepG2 by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Conclusion

HFA administration can provide health benefits by counteracting the effects of hyperlipidemia caused by an HFD in the body, and the underlying mechanism of this event is closely related to the activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

The crude guava polysaccharides ameliorate high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice via reshaping gut microbiota

Guava is a popular fruit consumed worldwide with beneficial effects in regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. Although polysaccharides are a major phytochemical component of guava, to date, the alleviative effects of polysaccharides from the guava fruit against diet-induced obesity remain unclear. The relationship between the anti-obesity effects of guava polysaccharide (GP) and gut microbiota is unknown. In current study, seven-week-old C57BL/6 mice were fed high-fat diet (HFD) supplemented with GP (100 mg/kg) by oral gavage for 11 weeks. GP supplementation alleviated HFD-induced body weight gain and visceral obesity, and reduced serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-C levels. In addition, GP ameliorated insulin resistance and prevented hepatic lipid accumulation and meta-inflammation in both liver and adipose tissues in obese mice. Remarkably, GP treatment restored the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, induced growth of beneficial bacteria including Clostridium XlVa, Parvibacter, and Enterorhabdus, and decreased in inflammation-related bacteria Mucispirillum in mice fecal samples, accompanied with enhanced production of colonic short chain fatty acids especially butyric acid. However, the metabolic benefits of GP diminished in antibiotics-treated HFD-fed mice. Overall, GP improved metabolic profiles in HFD-induced obese mice via the mediation of gut microbiota-dependent pathways. GP might be developed and utilized as prebiotics in nutraceutical and food industry.

Ameliorating Effect on Glycolipid Metabolism of Spirulina Functional Formulation Combination from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Insulin resistance is the major factor involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Although the oral drug metformin (MH) is widely used to reduce hyperglycemia, it is associated with adverse effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need to search for safe and natural foods that do not cause adverse effects as alternatives to commercial drugs. In this study, the active substances from Spirulina platensis, Grifola frondosa, Panax ginseng, and chromium-rich yeast were used to obtain Spirulina functional formulations (SFFs), and its therapeutic effects on mice with glycolipid metabolism disorder (GLD) were investigated. Results showed that SFFs not only improved glycolipid metabolism and reduced inflammation in mice with GLD but also showed good regenerative effects on the liver, jejunum, and cecum tissues. Moreover, SFFs could inhibit the growth of harmful microbes in the intestine and promote the proliferation of beneficial bacteria, thereby promoting the production of short-chain fatty acids and further regulating GLD. Additionally, SFFs significantly increased the expression of INS, INSR, IRS-1, PI3K, AKT-1, and GLUT-4 genes and significantly decreased that of GSK-3β in the INS/PI3K/GLUT-4 signaling pathway. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that SFFs can be further developed as a new class of therapeutic agents against GLD.

The beneficial effects of Lactobacillus brevis FZU0713-fermented Laminaria japonica on lipid metabolism and intestinal microbiota in hyperlipidemic rats fed with a high-fat diet

This study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of the oral administration of Lactobacillus brevis FZU0713-fermented Laminaria japonica (FLJ) on lipid metabolism and intestinal microbiota in hyperlipidemic rats fed with a high-fat diet (HFD). The results demonstrated that the oral administration of FLJ significantly inhibited obesity and improved the serum and hepatic biochemical parameters in HFD-fed rats. Histopathological results also indicated that FLJ intervention could significantly reduce the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver induced by HFD feeding. Furthermore, FLJ intervention up-regulated the fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels (mainly acetate, propionate and isobutyrate) in HFD-fed rats. Intestinal microbiota profiling by 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that FLJ intervention increased the relative abundance of Akkermansia, Collinsella, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013, Defluviitaleaceae_UCG-011, Intestinimonas, Actinomyces and Tyzzerella, but decreased the abundance of Flavonifractor, Collinsella, Sporosarcina and Lacticigenium. Based on Spearman's correlation, the fecal levels of TC, TG, acetic acid and butyric acid were positively correlated with the relative abundance of Akkermansia and Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214, but negatively correlated with the relative amount of Flavonifractor and Collinsella. The metabolic function of intestinal microbiota predicted by PICRUSt analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated that primary and secondary bile acid biosyntheses, fatty acid biosynthesis, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, etc. were significantly down-regulated after 8 weeks of FLJ intervention. Additionally, FLJ intervention significantly regulated the hepatic mRNA levels (including BSEP, CYP7A1, LDLR, HMGCR, CD36 and SREBP1-C) involved in lipid metabolism and bile acid homeostasis. In conclusion, these findings support the possibility that Laminaria japonica fermented with probiotic Lactobacillus has the potential to reduce the disturbance of lipid metabolism by regulating intestinal microflora and liver gene expression profiles, so it can be employed as a potential functional food to prevent hyperlipidemia.

Effect of Walnut Meal Peptides on Hyperlipidemia and Hepatic Lipid Metabolism in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet

As a natural active substance that can effectively improve blood lipid balance in the body, hypolipidemic active peptides have attracted the attention of scholars. In this study, the effect of walnut meal peptides (WMP) on lipid metabolism was investigated in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The experimental results show that feeding walnut meal peptides counteracted the high-fat diet-induced increase in body, liver and epididymal fat weight, and reduce the serum concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol and hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride content. Walnut meal peptides also resulted in increased HDL-cholesterol while reducing the atherosclerosis index (AI). Additionally, the stained pathological sections of the liver showed that the walnut meal peptides reduced hepatic steatosis and damage caused by HFD. Furthermore, walnut meal peptide supplementation was associated with normalization of elevated apolipoprotein (Apo)-B and reduced Apo-A1 induced by the high-fat diet and with favorable changes in the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism (LCAT, CYP7A1, HMGR, FAS). The results indicate that walnut meal peptides can effectively prevent the harmful effects of a high-fat diet on body weight, lipid metabolism and liver fat content in rats, and provide, and provide a reference for the further development of walnut meal functional foods.

DHA-enriched phospholipids from large yellow croaker roe regulate lipid metabolic disorders and gut microbiota imbalance in SD rats with a high-fat diet

Large yellow croaker roe phospholipids (LYCRPLs) have great nutritional value because they are rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is an n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA). In previous research, we studied the effect of LYCRPLs on the inhibition of triglyceride accumulation at the cellular level. However, its lipid regulation effect in rats on a high-fat diet and its influence on the gut microbiota has not yet been clarified. In this study, a high-fat diet was used to induce the lipid metabolism disorder in SD rats, and simvastatin, low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose LYCRPLs were given by intragastric administration for 8 weeks. The rats' body weight, food intake, organ index, blood biochemical indicators, epididymal fat tissue and liver histopathology were compared and analyzed. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology and bioinformatics analysis technology were also used to analyze the diversity of gut microbiota in rats. We found that LYCRPLs can significantly regulate lipid metabolism, and improve the gut microbiota disorder induced in rats by a high-fat diet. These results can lay a foundation for the study of the regulation mechanism of LYCRPLs lipid metabolism, and also provide a theoretical basis for the development of LYCRPLs as functional food additives and excipients with hypolipidemic effects.

Bacterial diversity in intestinal mucosa of mice fed with Dendrobium officinale and high-fat diet

This study aimed to explore the effect of Dendrobium officinale (DO) on the diversity of intestinal mucosal flora in high-fat diet mice and provided an experimental basis for the development and research of DO and its series products. Twenty-four mice were randomly assigned to four equal groups of six mice, namely the control (bcm) group, model (bmm) group, Dendrobium officinale (bdm) group, and positive control (bjm) group. Mice in the bdm group were administrated at the dose of 2.37 g·kg-1·days-1, and those in bjm group were given the Lipid-lowering decoction at the concentration of 1.19 g·kg-1·days-1, and sterile water was used as a placebo control twice a day for 40 consecutive days. We measured the dynamic weight changes and intestinal mucosal flora changes in mice. The analysis showed that DO had a regulatory effect on weight change induced by a high-fat diet in mice. DO could also regulate the changes in the diversity of the intestinal mucosa of mice, which was specifically reflected in the changes of Chao 1, ACE, Shannon and Simpson index. The sample information of the bdm group was relatively concentrated, but the distance from the bmm group was relatively scattered. The relative abundance results showed dominant bacteria phylum (such as Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia) and bacterial genus (such as Bifidobacterium, Ruminococcus, Ochrobactrum) in the intestinal mucosa of the four groups. And significant differences in the major microbiota between the bdm and bjm groups. In addition, DO changed the carbohydrate, energy, and amino acid metabolism of intestinal mucosal flora. To sum up, DO has a regulatory effect on weight change induced by high-fat diet in mice and can improve the diversity of intestinal mucosal flora, promote the abundance of Ochrobactrum, inhibit the abundance of Bifidobacterium and Ruminococcus, and influence the intestinal flora to positively affect high-fat diet-induced negative effects in mice.

Spirulina for the food and functional food industries

Humans are no strangers to the consumption of microalgae as already in the sixteenth century Spirulina was harvested from Lake Texcoco and consumed in markets in Tenochtitlan (today Mexico City). Nowadays, microalgae are being incorporated into many food formulations. Most of these use microalgae as a marketing strategy or as a colouring agent. However, Spirulina (and compounds derived thereof) show potential for being used as ingredients in the development of novel functional foods, which are one of the top trends in the food industry. Several human intervention studies demonstrated the potential of Spirulina for being used in the prevention or treatment of disorders related to metabolic syndrome. The aim of the current paper was to review current and potential applications of this microalga in the food and functional food industries. Health benefits associated with consuming Spirulina and/or some of the most important compounds derived from Spirulina were also discussed.

Effect of embryo-remaining oat rice on the lipid profile and intestinal microbiota in high-fat diet fed rats

Embryo-remaining oat rice (EROR), as a newly developed oat product, is popular in China for its good taste, but little is known about its healthy functions. In this study, the effects of EROR on lipid metabolism regulation were investigated in in vitro and in vivo models. The results showed that the oat ethanol extracts significantly alleviated lipid accumulation, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in HepG2 cells. EROR supplementation dramatically improved the lipid profile in the serum and liver and downregulated the expression levels of HMGCR, SREBP-1C and FAS, which are related to lipid metabolic disorder in high-fat diet (HFD) fed rats. A HFD decreases the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the cecum, which are related to intestinal microbiota dysbiosis. The intake of EROR significantly increased the total SCFAs, acetate and propionate and promoted the abundance of SCFA-producing bacteria. Furthermore, the intake of EROR led to abundant increases in Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia and decreases of Rombutsia, Fusicatenibacter, Holdemanella and Turicibacter, which were negatively and positively correlated with the lipid metabolism-related indices. These results provide evidence that EROR is a good functional food candidate to ameliorate lipid metabolic disorder and hyperlipidemia.

Holothuria Leucospilota Polysaccharides Ameliorate Hyperlipidemia in High-Fat Diet-Induced Rats via Short-Chain Fatty Acids Production and Lipid Metabolism Regulation

Holothuria leucospilota polysaccharides (HLP) are expected to become potential resources for the treatment of hyperlipidemia because of their various bioactivities. In the study, the treatment of HLP on improving hyperlipidemia in rats was explored. Oral administration of HLP at 100 or 200 mg/kg body weight effectively alleviated serum lipid levels and liver histological abnormalities in high-fat-diet rats. HLP regulated abnormal mRNA, lipogenesis-related hormones and inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and interleukin-12) levels. HLP improved the ability of gut microbiota to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs have been found to ameliorate liver lesions. Therefore, HLP alleviated hyperlipidemia by improving the levels of SCFAs to regulate lipid metabolism. These results indicated that HLP could be used as beneficial polysaccharides to alleviate hyperlipidemia.