School of Life Science, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Yangguang South Street, Fangshan, 102488, Beijing, China.
School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Yangguang South Street, Fangshan, 102488, Beijing, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2021 Oct 5;278:114300. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114300. Epub 2021 Jun 15.
Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) is rich in a variety of biologically active ingredients, which shows good effect in the treatment of metabolic diseases. Monascus has lipid-lowering activity and one of its metabolites, lovastatin, is widely used in clinical practice.
The main purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of fermented Panax ginseng by Monascus ruber (PM) on lipid metabolism and gut microbiota in rats fed a high-fat diet.
SPF Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, the therapeutic effect of PM on HFD-induced obesity, hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and disordered gut microbiota were determined in rats.
PM could attenuate features of obesity in rats, decrease serum TC, LDL-C and IgA levels, increase excretion of bile acids in feces. Hepatic histopathologic analysis revealed that PM decrease lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. Consistently, mRNA expression levels of cholesterol metabolism-related genes were regulated in the livers of HFD-fed rats administered with PM. In addition, PM could enhance the diversity and relative abundance of gut microbiota, reduce the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio, increase significantly the relative abundance of Prevotella_9, and decrease these of Muribaculaceae.
PM could regulate lipid metabolism and the structure of the gut microbiota in the HFD rats. Our findings provide valuable experience for the development of ginseng. PM could be a potentially effective strategy to prevent and treat metabolic diseases and alleviate the gut microbiota disturbance caused by it.
人参（Panax ginseng Meyer）富含多种具有生物活性的成分，在治疗代谢性疾病方面效果良好。红曲霉具有降脂活性，其代谢产物洛伐他汀广泛应用于临床实践。
本研究的主要目的是阐明红曲霉发酵人参（PM）对高脂肪饮食喂养大鼠脂代谢和肠道微生物群的影响。
SPF 斯普拉格-道利大鼠随机分为 5 组，确定 PM 对 HFD 诱导肥胖、高血脂、肝脂肪变性和肠道微生物群失调的治疗效果。
PM 可减轻大鼠肥胖特征，降低血清 TC、LDL-C 和 IgA 水平，增加粪便中胆汁酸的排泄。肝组织病理学分析显示 PM 可减少肝细胞内的脂质堆积。同样，PM 处理的 HFD 喂养大鼠肝脏中胆固醇代谢相关基因的 mRNA 表达水平得到调节。此外，PM 可增强肠道微生物群的多样性和相对丰度，降低厚壁菌门/拟杆菌门（F/B）比值，显著增加普雷沃氏菌 9 的相对丰度，并降低 Muribaculaceae 的相对丰度。
PM 可调节 HFD 大鼠的脂代谢和肠道微生物群结构。我们的研究结果为开发人参提供了有价值的经验。PM 可能是预防和治疗代谢性疾病以及缓解其引起的肠道微生物群失调的有效策略。
