LAUSR

BACKGROUND Obesity is closely associated with lipid accumulation, inflammation and intestinal microbiota dysbiosis. Short- and long-chain type structured lipids (SLCTs) is a kind of low-calorie structured lipids and demonstrates anti-obesity and hypolipidemia bioactivity. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential effects of dietary supplementation of short- and long-chain type structured lipids (SLCTs) rich in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids on high-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity and gut microbiota modulation in C57BL/6J mice. RESULTS Results showed that SLCTs supplementation ameliorated body weight, dyslipidaemia, liver lipid accumulation, liver injury, and systemic inflammation in obese mice. As expected, Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that SLCTs significantly increased the expression of proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and decreased the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the liver tissue. Furthermore, SLCTs supplementation significantly downregulated the expression level of liver inflammation related genes while upregulating the expression level of liver lipid metabolism related genes. Additionally, SLCTs supplementation dramatically enhanced the diversity of gut microbiota, reduced the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and increased the diversity and richness of beneficial intestinal microorganisms, such as Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group, Alloprevotella, and Ruminococcaceae UCG-014. CONCLUSION Our work suggested that SLCTs may have the potential to reduce obesity associated with a high-fat diet by regulating liver metabolism, inflammation, and gut microbiota. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.