Puerarin prevents high-fat diet-induced obesity by enriching Akkermansia muciniphila in the gut microbiota of mice.

ABSTRACT: Growing evidence indicates that the gut microbiota plays a significant role in the pathophysiological processes of obesity and its related metabolic symptoms in the host. Puerarin, an active ingredient in the root of Pueraria lobate has been suggested to have a potent anti-obesity effect. Herein, we tested whether this effect of puerarin is associated with changes in the gut microbiota. In addition to reducing body weight, inflammation, and insulin resistance, puerarin administration significantly altered the composition of the gut microbiota. Notably, puerarin treatment greatly increased the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, a mucin-degrading bacterium known to be beneficial for host metabolism and significantly downregulated in high-fat diet-fed mice. Further experiments revealed tha

SUBMITTER: Wang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6590871 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature