Abstract
The increasing incidence of obesity poses a great threat to public health worldwide. Recent reports also indicate the relevance of obesity in metabolic diseases. Chinese propolis (CP), as a well-studied natural nutraceutical, has shown a beneficial effect on alleviating diabetes mellitus. However, few studies have investigated the effect of CP on weight management and energy balance. We examined the beneficial effects of dietary CP on weight in high-fat diet-fed female and male mice and determined whether CP alters gut microbiota. In this study, dietary CP supplementation reduces body weight and improves insulin resistance in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice in a dose-dependent manner. CP treatment also reverses liver weight loss and triglyceride accumulation in association with hepatic steatosis. The 16S rRNA analysis of gut microbiota demonstrated that CP treatment modulates the composition in HFD-fed mice. Our study also suggests that male mice were more sensitive to CP treatment than female mice. Taken together, CP supplementation reduces weight gain and reverses gut microbiome dysbiosis induced by HFD. Further, the effects of CP treatment on metabolic biomarkers and microbiome structure differ by gender.
Highlights
Obesity is a worldwide public health threat that is increasing among adults and youth [1].A long-term high-fat or unbalanced diet contributes to obesity [2,3], which is reflected by the increasing global overweight ratio [4]
We examined the effect of Chinese propolis (CP) and high-fat diet (HFD) on serum hyperlipidemia and found that it differed depending on the gender of mice
We reported for the first time that CP treatment could alleviate HFD-induced obesity
Summary
Obesity is a worldwide public health threat that is increasing among adults and youth [1].A long-term high-fat or unbalanced diet contributes to obesity [2,3], which is reflected by the increasing global overweight ratio [4]. Obesity is a worldwide public health threat that is increasing among adults and youth [1]. The incidence of obesity has reached 108 million children and 604 million adults in 2015, and the prevalence has doubled since 1980 [1]. High BMI contributed to 3.5 million deaths in 2010 and is the fifth leading cause of death in the world. It is associated with the increased incidence of cancer, metabolic syndromes, and cardiovascular diseases [6]. Reports have pointed out that the significant increase in the prevalence of obesity leads to a rapid increase in type 2 diabetes, which poses a great threat to public health [7]. It is urgent to find methods to help manage the weight gain and complications induced by obesity
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