A fucoidan from sea cucumber Pearsonothuria graeffei with well-repeated structure alleviates gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic syndromes in HFD-fed mice

Food Funct. 2018 Oct 17;9(10):5371-5380. doi: 10.1039/c8fo01174e.

Abstract

A high-fat diet (HFD) has been a major contributor to increasing morbidity caused by metabolic syndromes. Functional foods from natural sources are potential choices for addressing metabolic diseases because they provide many health benefits with a low level of adverse side effects. In our former reports, fucoidan from Pearsonothuria graeffei (fuc-Pg), a type of sulfated polysaccharides with a repeating structure, was shown to be a potential functional food ingredient. In this work, we investigated the effects of fuc-Pg on gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic syndromes caused by HFD. Our results indicated that fuc-Pg could reduce weight gains, alleviate hyperlipidemia, and protect the liver from steatosis in HFD-fed mice. Meanwhile, fuc-Pg decreases serum inflammatory cytokines and reduces macrophages infiltrating into adipose tissue. The gut microbiota dysbiosis caused by HFD was alleviated by administration of fuc-Pg, mainly working in the colon. Fuc-Pg increased abundances of Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria while decreased Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Our results indicated that fuc-Pg could be a functional food for gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic syndromes.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacteria / classification
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification
  • Cytokines / genetics
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Diet, High-Fat
  • Dysbiosis / diet therapy*
  • Dysbiosis / genetics
  • Dysbiosis / metabolism
  • Dysbiosis / microbiology*
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Metabolic Syndrome / diet therapy*
  • Metabolic Syndrome / genetics
  • Metabolic Syndrome / metabolism
  • Metabolic Syndrome / microbiology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Phylogeny
  • Polysaccharides / chemistry
  • Polysaccharides / metabolism*
  • Sea Cucumbers / chemistry
  • Sea Cucumbers / metabolism*

Substances

  • Cytokines
  • Polysaccharides
  • fucoidan