Metabolic endotoxemia originating from dysbiotic gut microbiota has been identified as a primary mediator for triggering the chronic low-grade inflammation (CLGI) responsible for the development of obesity. Capsaicin (CAP) is the major pungent bioactivator in chili peppers and has potent anti-obesity functions, yet the mechanisms linking this effect to gut microbiota remain obscure. Here we show that mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) supplemented with CAP exhibit lower levels of metabolic endotoxemia and CLGI associated with lower body weight gain. High-resolution responses of the microbiota were examined by 16S rRNA sequencing, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) measurements, and phylogenetic reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) analysis. The results showed, among others, that dietary CAP induced increased levels of butyrate-producing Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae, while it caused lower levels of members of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-producing family S24_7. Predicted function analysis (PICRUSt) showed depletion of genes involved in bacterial LPS synthesis in response to CAP. We further identified that inhibition of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) by CAP also contributes to prevention of HFD-induced gut barrier dysfunction. Importantly, fecal microbiota transplantation experiments conducted in germfree mice demonstrated that dietary CAP-induced protection against HFD-induced obesity is transferrable. Moreover, microbiota depletion by a cocktail of antibiotics was sufficient to block the CAP-induced protective phenotype against obesity, further suggesting the role of microbiota in this context. Together, our findings uncover an interaction between dietary CAP and gut microbiota as a novel mechanism for the anti-obesity effect of CAP acting through prevention of microbial dysbiosis, gut barrier dysfunction, and chronic low-grade inflammation.

wileyonlinelibrary.comdiffi culty of uniformly dispersing both CNTs and graphene in polymer matrices and the high-performance demands of electrical conductivity without severe deterioration during stretching. First, because of the high aspect ratio and strong π-π interactions among carbon nano-materials, CNTs tend to bundle and aggregate, and graphene sheets are easy to stack in the matrices. [11][12][13] These processes would all have an adverse impact on the electrical performance of the SCMs. Second, partial breaks and cracks in the conductive networks of matrices are familiar occurrences when the SCMs are stretched to an extremely large strain, for example, 50%. [ 14 ] Therefore, the stretching range will be limited to maintain the excellent electrical performance of SCMs for practical applications.A large number of studies are targeted to addressing these limitations. [15][16][17][18] One attractive and effi cient method to improve the distribution and dispersion of these carbon nano-materials in SCMs is to construct their three-dimensional (3D) structures in advance and then impregnate them within the polymer. [ 23 ] Nevertheless, the commonly used 3D network preparation methods (e.g., organic sol-gel polymerization, [19][20][21] chemical and hydrothermal reduction, [ 22,23 ] and chemical vapor deposition [ 24,25 ] are complex, expensive and time consuming. Therefore, although these structures impart the SCMs with high electrical conductivity while maintaining a low nanofi ller loading, the large-scale manufacturing of CNTs and/or graphene 3D networks is still largely restricted. Moreover, the electrical conductivities of these 3D carbon nano-material-based polymer composites generally exhibit gradual decreases with increasing strains, [ 16,17 ] thereby resulting in signifi cantly reduced conductivities under large strains. For example, in our previous work, the conductivity of a CNT/graphene aerogel/poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) fi lm exhibited a ≈30% decrease under 30% strain, [ 16 ] and a graphene foam/PDMS composite also revealed a 30% decrease under 50% strain. [ 13 ] This phenomenon is due to cracking of the conductive network under stretching, which would be more prominent under large deformations. Regarding this point, J. Park et al. provided a new design opportunity for obtaining high electrical conductivity performance from SCMs under large strains from the perspective of the polymer substrate. [ 18 ] Their specially designed porous PDMS exhibited a signifi cantly Here, a novel and facile method is reported for manufacturing a new stretchable conductive material that integrates a hybrid three dimensional (3D) carbon nanotube (CNT)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) network with a porous poly(dimethylsiloxane) (p-PDMS) elastomer (pPCG). This reciprocal architecture not only alleviates the aggregation of carbon nanofi llers but also signifi cantly improves the conductivity of pPCG under large strains. Consequently, the pPCG exhibits high electrical conductivity with a low nanofi ller loading (27 S m −1 wi...

Our study showed that gut enterotypes may influence the beneficial effects of dietary CAP, providing new evidence for the personalized nutrition guidance of CAP intervention on health promotion linking with gut microbiota patterns.

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