FZU106 alleviates high-fat diet-induced lipid metabolism disorder in association with the modulation of intestinal microbiota in hyperlipidemic rats.

Probiotics have been proved to have beneficial effects in improving hyperlipidemia. The purpose of the current research was to investigate the ameliorative effects of FZU106, isolated from the traditional brewing of rice wine, on lipid metabolism and intestinal microbiota in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemic rats. Results showed that FZU106 intervention obviously inhibited the abnormal increase of body weight, ameliorated serum and liver biochemical parameters related to lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. Histopathological evaluation also showed that FZU106 could significantly reduce the excessive lipid accumulation in liver caused by HFD-feeding. Furthermore, FZU106 intervention significantly increased the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) levels in HFD-fed rats, which was closely related to the changes of intestinal microbial composition and metabolism. Intestinal microbiota profiling by high-throughput sequencing demonstrated that FZU106 intervention evidently increased the proportion of , , , and _group, and decreased the proportion of _1, , , , , _group, and in HFD-fed rats. Additionally, FZU106 significantly regulated the mRNA levels of liver genes (including , , , , and ) involved in lipid metabolism and bile acid homeostasis. Therefore, these findings support the possibility that FZU106 has the potential to reduce the disturbance of lipid metabolism by regulating intestinal microflora and liver gene expression profiles.