Study on the hypolipidemic effect of Inonotus obliquus polysaccharide in hyperlipidemia rats based on the regulation of intestinal flora

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of Inonotus obliquus polysaccharide (IOP) on blood lipids and its regulation on the intestinal flora in hyperlipidemia rats, and explore the modern biological connotation of IOP in reducing blood lipids. In this study, we obtained the crude IOP by the water extraction and alcohol precipitation method, and then classified it by DEAE ion‐exchange chromatography to obtain the acidic I. obliquus polysaccharide (IOP‐A). After the administration of the IOP‐A, the serum TC, TG, and LDL‐C levels were significantly lower, while the serum HDL‐C levels were significantly higher. The expression of CYP7A1 protein was considerably increased, whereas the expression of SREBP‐1C protein was considerably decreased in the rat hepatic tissue. In addition, the IOP‐A could significantly alleviate the hepatocyte fatty degeneration in the liver lobule of rats. We believe that the IOP‐A can affect the composition of intestinal flora by reducing the relative abundance of Firmicutes and increasing the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes. These findings indicated that the IOP‐A can regulate the dyslipidemia of hyperlipidemia rats, and its mechanism may be through regulating the CYP7A1 and SREBP‐1C expression in the metabolism of lipids, and correcting the imbalance of intestinal flora structure caused by a high‐fat diet.

Therapeutic properties of Inonotus obliquus (Chaga mushroom): A review

“…DNA sequencing of caecal microbiota revealed that the ameliorative effects of IOP on obesity are through modification of the microbiota metabolism, particularly an increase in butyrate-production-associated bacteria Lactobacillus and Bacteroidales S24-7, as well as short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria Holdemanella and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014 (Yu et al 2020 ). Furthermore, IOP can significantly reduce serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) contents, while increasing high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) content both in vitro in oleic acid-induced HepG2 cells and in vivo in mice fed with a high-fat diet (Yang et al 2021 ; Lin et al 2023 ). A successful decrease in the weight gain of mice induced by a high-fat diet was also observed after 10 weeks of IOP treatment (Yang et al 2021 ).…”

“…In addition, lipid synthesis-related genes, sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1C (SREBP-1C), acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC), and fatty acid synthase (FAS), were found to be lower in HFD-treated-C57BL/6J mice that received IOP intervention as compared to untreated groups (Yang et al 2021 ). Instead, IOP treatment was observed to reverse the downregulated expressions of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in obese mice (Yang et al 2021 ) and increased cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) expressions (Lin et al 2023 ), which is an enzyme involved in the main pathway for cholesterol removal from the body (Wang et al 2018 ).…”

Investigation of the therapeutic effect of Hedan tablets on high‐fat diet‐induced obesity in rats by GC–MS technology and 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing

“…Because of its multi‐component and multi‐target intervention characteristics, traditional Chinese medicine has emerged as a focal point in the prevention and treatment of obesity. The active ingredients found in traditional Chinese medicine, including flavonoids (Song et al, 2019; Zheng et al, 2018), alkaloids (He et al, 2017; Ning et al, 2020), polysaccharides (Lin et al, 2023; Sang et al, 2021), and polyphenolic compounds (Wang et al, 2019; Xu et al, 2020), possess the ability to regulate bile secretion, reduce cholesterol levels, enhance immune function, inhibit inflammatory responses, and promote the stability of intestinal flora. However, further in‐depth and accurate investigation is required to elucidate the precise mechanism by which traditional Chinese medicine regulates intestinal flora structure and improves metabolic disorders.…”