Neoagarooligosaccharides modulate gut microbiota and alleviate body weight gain and metabolic syndrome in high-fat diet-induced obese rats

Abstract

Some oligosaccharides function as prebiotics and improve the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, which affects the health of the host. Recent data suggests that neoagarooligosaccharides (NAOs) can exert anti-obesity effect. However, the effects of NAOs on the gut microbiota and its association with metabolic syndrome have never been explored yet. Therefore, metabolic changes and the modulation of the gut microbiome after NAOs feeding to obese rats was investigated. NAOs supplementation reduced body weight, and improved lipogenesis, cholesterol and glucose levels. In addition, NAOs administration enriched several taxa negatively associated with obesity, specifically Eubacterium fissicatena and Ruminococcaceae UCG-005. The results indicated that the effects of NAOs on the improvement of obesity and glucose/lipid metabolism in obese rats may be associated with their modulatory effect on gut microbiome. The present findings provide novel insights on the anti-obesity mechanism of NAOs through gut microbiome modulation.

Keywords

• Neoagarooligosaccharides
• Faecal microbiota
• Obesity
• Metabolic syndrome
• Rat