Beneficial effects of fermented barley extracts on inflammatory status and gut microbiota in high‐fat diet‐induced obese rats

摘要

Abstract Aims To explore how fermented barley extracts could affect obesity‐associated inflammatory responses to ameliorate high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced obesity, and investigate whether their anti‐inflammatory properties were affected by modulating the gut microbiota. Methods and Results Twenty‐four male rats were assigned randomly to three groups for 8 weeks. Inflammatory status and gut microbiota in HFD‐induced obese rats were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and 16sRNA sequencing technology. The dietary supplementation of Extract of fermented barley with L. plantarum JDM1 (LFBE) reduced HFD‐induced obesity and improved insulin sensitivity. LFBE significantly decreased the levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and pro‐inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor‐α, interleukin IL‐6, IL‐1β, monocyte chemotactic protein‐1), and increased anti‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐10) in serum. In addition, LFBE suppressed the activation of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) by inhibiting the inhibitor of NF‐κB alpha degradation and phosphorylation of JNK/p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinases in adipose tissue. Combined with changes in gut microbiota, these results illustrated that LFBE treatment markedly decreased the proportion of the LPS‐producing opportunistic pathogens and increased the proportion of Bifidobacterium. Conclusions Administration of LFBE has beneficial effects on ameliorating HFD‐induced obesity and insulin resistance, lessening HFD‐induced gut microbiota dysbiosis and pro‐inflammatory cytokines secretion. Significance and Impact of this Study The results suggest that fermented barley extracts may be a useful functional compound and beneficial to improve inflammatory status and gut microflora.