Dietary Polysaccharide from Enteromorpha clathrata Attenuates Obesity and Increases the Intestinal Abundance of Butyrate-Producing Bacterium, Eubacterium xylanophilum, in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet.

Jiali Wei,Hongqian Zhong,Qing Zhao,Lin Pan,Qingsen Shang,Xinyu Zhu,Chen Zhou,Tianyu Fu,Guangli Yu,Yiran Zhao

doi:10.3390/polym13193286

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that polysaccharide from Enteromorpha clathrata (ECP) could be used as a potential prebiotic to treat dysbiosis-associated diseases. However, whether it has any therapeutic effects on obesity has not been investigated. In the present study, we explored the anti-obesity effect of ECP and illustrated that it can significantly reduce the body weight and decrease the serum levels of triacylglycerol and cholesterol in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. As revealed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic analysis, HFD remarkably changed the composition of the gut microbiota and promoted the growth of opportunistic pathogens such as Mucispirillum, Desulfobacterota and Alphaproteobacteria in obese mice. Interestingly, ECP improved intestinal dysbiosis caused by HFD and reshaped the structure of the gut microbiota in diseased mice by increasing the abundance of butyrate-producing bacterium, Eubacterium xylanophilum, in the gut. Altogether, we demonstrate for the first time an anti-obesity effect of ECP and shed new light into its therapeutic mechanisms from the perspective of gut microbiota. Our study will pave the way for the development of ECP as new prebiotic for the treatment of obesity and its associated disorders.

Highlights

Enteromorpha clathrate or Ulva clathrate, a marine-derived green alga, has been widely used as a natural herb in Asian countries [1,2,3,4]
Preceding studies have demonstrated a beneficial role of E. clathrata for the management of chronic diseases and accumulating evidence has indicated that E. clathrata polysaccharide (ECP) is a major bioactive constituent [2,3]
We previously found that ECP could be used as a prebiotic to stimulate the growth of beneficial microbes in the gut including Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp. and Akkermansia muciniphila [5]

Summary

Introduction

Enteromorpha clathrate or Ulva clathrate, a marine-derived green alga, has been widely used as a natural herb in Asian countries [1,2,3,4]. We previously found that ECP could be used as a prebiotic to stimulate the growth of beneficial microbes in the gut including Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp. and Akkermansia muciniphila [5]. As a novel gut microbiota modulator, whether ECP has any therapeutic effects on obesity, a gut dysbiosis-associated chronic disease, has not been investigated. Fucoidan could promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, including Akkermansia muciniphila and Alloprevotella spp. in the gut [9]. Laminarin, another prebiotic polysaccharide from seaweed could reduce the body weight in obese mice by favorably modulates the gut microbiota [10]

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Conclusion