Disparate Metabolic Responses in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet Supplemented with Maize-Derived Non-Digestible Feruloylated Oligo- and Polysaccharides Are Linked to Changes in the Gut Microbiota

PLoS One. 2016 Jan 5;11(1):e0146144. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146144. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Studies have suggested links between colonic fermentation of dietary fibers and improved metabolic health. The objectives of this study were to determine if non-digestible feruloylated oligo- and polysaccharides (FOPS), a maize-derived dietary fiber, could counteract the deleterious effects of high-fat (HF) feeding in mice and explore if metabolic benefits were linked to the gut microbiota. C57BL/6J mice (n = 8/group) were fed a low-fat (LF; 10 kcal% fat), HF (62 kcal% fat), or HF diet supplemented with FOPS (5%, w/w). Pronounced differences in FOPS responsiveness were observed: four mice experienced cecal enlargement and enhanced short chain fatty acid production, indicating increased cecal fermentation (F-FOPS). Only these mice displayed improvements in glucose metabolism compared with HF-fed mice. Blooms in the gut microbial genera Blautia and Akkermansia were observed in three of the F-FOPS mice; these shifts were associated with reductions in body and adipose tissue weights compared with the HF-fed control mice. No improvements in metabolic markers or weights were detected in the four mice whose gut microbiota did not respond to FOPS. These findings demonstrate that FOPS-induced improvements in weight gain and metabolic health in mice depended on the ability of an individual's microbiota to ferment FOPS.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adipose Tissue / drug effects
  • Adipose Tissue / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Body Weight / drug effects
  • Body Weight / physiology
  • Diet, High-Fat*
  • Dietary Fiber / pharmacology*
  • Fatty Acids, Volatile / metabolism
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / drug effects*
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / physiology
  • Gastrointestinal Tract / drug effects
  • Gastrointestinal Tract / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Polysaccharides / pharmacology
  • Zea mays

Substances

  • Dietary Fiber
  • Fatty Acids, Volatile
  • Polysaccharides