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Broccoli microgreens juice reduces body weight by enhancing insulin sensitivity and modulating gut microbiota in high-fat diet-induced C57BL/6J obese mice

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to explore the protective effect of broccoli microgreens juice (BMJ) during C57BL/6J mice obesity development.

Methods

The obese model mice, induced by feeding high-fat diet (HFD), were treated with BMJ by gavage for 10 weeks. Melbine was gavaged at 300 mg/(kg bw)/d, as a positive control group.

Results

BMJ supplementation significantly reduced white adipose tissues (WAT) mass, the body weight and adipocyte size, and increased water intake in HFD-fed mice. Moreover, it improved glucose tolerance, reduced insulin level and HOMA-IR value, and alleviated insulin resistance. Compared with the HFD group, BMJ supplementation significantly increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and decreased the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes at the phylum level, and enriched Bacteroides_acidifaciens at the species level. These changes in the composition of gut microbiota are associated with the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and reduced LPS levels, and had an obvious anti-inflammatory effect.

Conclusions

These findings suggested that the protective effects of BMJ on diet-induced obesity may be involved in gut microbiota–SCFAs–LPS–inflammatory axis. In addition, BMJ can enhance liver antioxidant capacity and reduce liver fat accumulation. Consequently, these results sustain BMJ as a novel functional food for obesity, on the basis of its opposing effects on HFD-induced obesity in mice.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31801545), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (SBK2018042932), Open project of China Canada food nutrition and health Joint Laboratory (ZJ-2020-07), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project (2020M671517), Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (KYCX19_1422).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Food Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China

    Xiangfei Li, Shuhua Tian, Yunfan Wang & Yingjian Lu

  2. College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Xiangfei Li

  3. China–Canada Joint Lab of Food Nutrition and Health (Beijing), Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Jie Liu & Jing Wang

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  1. Xiangfei Li
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Correspondence to Yingjian Lu.

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Li, X., Tian, S., Wang, Y. et al. Broccoli microgreens juice reduces body weight by enhancing insulin sensitivity and modulating gut microbiota in high-fat diet-induced C57BL/6J obese mice. Eur J Nutr 60, 3829–3839 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02553-9

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