Saccharina japonica fucan suppresses high fat diet-induced obesity and enriches fucoidan-degrading gut bacteria

• Published in: Carbohydrate polymers 2022-08, Vol.290, p.119411-119411, Article 119411
• Main Authors: Wei, Bin, Zhang, Bo, Du, Ao-Qi, Zhou, Zhen-Yi, Lu, Dong-Ze, Zhu, Zhong-Hui, Ke, Song-Ze, Wang, Si-Jia, Yu, Yan-Lei, Chen, Jian-Wei, Zhang, Hua-Wei, Jin, Wei-Hua, Wang, Hong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 16S rRNA gene sequencing; Animals; Bacteria; Diet, High-Fat - adverse effects; Dysbiosis; Fucoidan-degrading; Gut microbiota; Laminaria; Metagenome-assembled genomes; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Obesity; Obesity - metabolism; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Saccharina japonica
• ISSN: 0144-8617; 1879-1344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119411

Low molecular weight seaweed polysaccharides exhibit promising potential as novel therapeutics for the prevention of obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis. The interplay between polysaccharides and gut microbiota may play crucial roles in their anti-obesity effects, but is largely unknown, including the impact of polysaccharides on the composition of the gut microbiota with polysaccharide-degrading capacity. The primary structure of a 5.1 kDa fucan (J2H) from Saccharina japonica was characterized and oral administration of J2H effectively suppressed high-fat diet-induced obesity, blood glucose metabolic dysfunction, dyslipidemia, and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Furthermore, the Jensen-Shannon divergence analysis demonstrated that J2H enriched at least four gut bacterial species with fucoidan-degrading potential, including Bacteroides sartorii and Bacteroides acidifaciens. Our findings suggest that the low molecular weight S. japonica fucan, J2H, is a promising potential agent for obesity prevention and its enrichment of gut bacteria with fucoidan-degrading potential may play a vital role in the anti-obesity effects. [Display omitted] •A 5.1 kDa fucan (J2H) was prepared from Saccharina japonica.•J2H is composed of 1,3-linked α-L-Fucp residues sulfated at C2, C4 and/or C2/C4.•J2H suppressed HFD-induced obesity, metabolic disorder and gut microbiota dysbiosis.•Jensen-Shannon divergence was employed to evaluate the fucoidan-degrading potential.•J2H enriched at least four gut bacterial species with fucoidan-degrading potential.