Dietary cellulose nanofiber modulates obesity and gut microbiota in high-fat-fed mice

Abstract

Cellulose nanofiber (CN) has a unique feature of dispersing in water and producing a dispersion of high viscosity, similar to highly viscous soluble dietary fibers (DFs). The beneficial effects of soluble DFs on glycemic control are associated with viscosity, thus making CN a potential option to attenuate obesity and related diseases. Here, we studied the effects of CN intake on obesity and gut microbiota in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. The CN-treated mice were provided 0.1% or 0.2% CN dispersions via drinking water for seven weeks. HFD-fed mice weighed more than mice fed a normal-fat diet (NFD). The weight gain in HFD-fed mice was suppressed in 0.2% CN-treated group, but not in 0.1% CN-treated group, when compared with CN-untreated group. Also, the accumulation of epididymal and subcutaneous fat in HFD-fed mice was lower in 0.2% CN treated group than in the CN-untreated group. Moreover, the fecal gut microbiota was analyzed by sequencing bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes. Oral administration of 0.2% CN, but not 0.1% CN, increased bacterial diversity and induced changes in the gut microbiota composition of HFD-fed mice. The principal component analysis (PCA) at the phylum level showed a shift in the microbiota composition resulting from feeding HFD. This shift in the PC1 axis was reversed by 0.2% CN intake. In addition, the relative abundance of Streptococcaceae and Rikenellaceae decreased while that of Lactobacillaceae increased, upon higher intake of CN. These results suggest that CN consumption has inhibitory effects on obesity mediated via control of gut microbiota balance.