Lemon fermented products prevent obesity in high-fat diet-fed rats by modulating lipid metabolism and gut microbiota

Chih-Chung Wu; Yu-Wen Huang; Chih-Yao Hou; Ya-Ting Chen; Cheng-Di Dong; Chiu-Wen Chen; Reeta Rani Singhania; Jie-Yin Leang; Shu-Ling Hsieh

doi:10.1007/s13197-022-05445-w

Lemon fermented products prevent obesity in high-fat diet-fed rats by modulating lipid metabolism and gut microbiota

J Food Sci Technol. 2023 Mar;60(3):1036-1044. doi: 10.1007/s13197-022-05445-w. Epub 2022 Apr 13.

Authors

Chih-Chung Wu¹, Yu-Wen Huang², Chih-Yao Hou², Ya-Ting Chen², Cheng-Di Dong³, Chiu-Wen Chen³, Reeta Rani Singhania³, Jie-Yin Leang⁴, Shu-Ling Hsieh²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food and Nutrition, Providence University, Taichung, 43301 Taiwan.
² Department of Seafood Science, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, 81157 Taiwan.
³ Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, 81157 Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Food Science, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201 Taiwan.

Abstract

Citrus limon (lemon) possesses immunoregulatory, antioxidant, and lipid-lowering effects. Our previous study showed that lemon fermented products (LFP) which were lemon fermented with Lactobacillus OPC1 had the ability to avert obesity. However, the LFP effects on the pathway of lipid metabolism by gut microbiota were still unclear. This study was aimed to investigate the LFP effects on liver lipid metabolism and gut microbiota in a rat model of obesity caused by a high-calorie diet. LFP effectively reduced the total triglyceride (49.7%) and total cholesterol (53.3%) contents of the liver. Additionally, the mRNA levels of genes related to triglyceride metabolism (SREBP-1c, PPARγ, and ACC), cholesterol metabolism (HMG-CoA reductase, ACAT, and LCAT), and lipid β-oxidation (PPARα, and CPT-1) were regulated by LFP. Furthermore, LFP reduced the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes and enhanced the ratio of Firmicutes Clostridia. Overall, these findings suggested that LFP might use as a potential dietary supplement for preventing obesity by modulating the lipid metabolism and improving the gut microbiota.

Keywords: F/B ratio; Gut microbiota; Lemon fermented products; Lipid metabolism; Liver lipid.