Mung bean (
L.) is an important pulse consumed all over the world, especially in Asian countries, and has a long history of usage as traditional medicine. It has been known to be an excellent source ...of protein, dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and significant amounts of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, polysaccharides, and peptides, therefore, becoming a popular functional food in promoting good health. The mung bean has been documented to ameliorate hyperglycemia, hyperlipemia, and hypertension, and prevent cancer and melanogenesis, as well as possess hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory activities. These health benefits derive primarily from the concentration and properties of those active compounds present in the mung bean. Vitexin and isovitexin are identified as the major polyphenols, and peptides containing hydrophobic amino acid residues with small molecular weight show higher bioactivity in the mung bean. Considering the recent surge in interest in the use of grain legumes, we hope this review will provide a blueprint to better utilize the mung bean in food products to improve human nutrition and further encourage advancement in this field.
Purpose
Obesity, a strong risk factor for metabolic disorder, has become a major impediment for public health globally. The objective of this study was to assess the anti-obesity effect of mung bean, ...and the relationship between the gut microbiota modulatory effects of mung bean and the prevention of obesity.
Methods
Thirty-two four-week-old male C57BL/6 J mice were divided into four groups: normal chow diet (NCD), high-fat diet (HFD), a high-fat diet supplemented with 30% whole mung bean flour (HFD-WMB), and a high-fat diet supplemented with 30% decorticated mung bean flour (HFD-DMB). The ability of a mung bean-based diet to combat obesity-related metabolic disorder was determined by assessing the changes in physiological, histological, biochemical parameters, and gut microbiota composition of mice with HFD-induced obesity at 12 weeks.
Results
Both of WMB and DMB supplementation can effectively alleviate HFD-induced lipid metabolic disorders, which was accompanied by a reduction in hepatic steatosis. However, the only supplementation with WMB significantly reduced HFD-induced body weight gain, fat accumulation, and adipocyte size, and ameliorated the glucose tolerance and insulin resistance by sensitizing insulin action. Furthermore, high-throughput pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA revealed that WMB and DMB supplementation could normalize HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis. Especially, WMB and DMB supplementation significantly promoted the relative abundance of
Akkermansia
and
Bifidobacterium
, respectively, and both of them significantly restored the relative abundance of several HFD-dependent taxa back to normal status in this study. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that those genera are closely correlated with obesity-related indices.
Conclusions
Although WMB showed better beneficial effects on HFD-induced obesity in comparison with DMB, DMB still retained some health benefits. Moreover, the alleviation of HFD-induced changes by mung bean supplementation was, at least, partially conciliated by structural modulation of gut microbiota.
Adzuki bean consumption has many health benefits, but its effects on obesity and regulating gut microbiota imbalances induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) have not been thoroughly studied. Mice were fed ...a low-fat diet, a HFD, and a HFD supplemented with 15% adzuki bean (HFD-AB) for 12 weeks. Adzuki bean supplementation significantly reduced obesity, lipid accumulation, and serum lipid and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels induced by HFD. It also mitigated liver function damage and hepatic steatosis. In particular, adzuki bean supplementation improved glucose homeostasis by increasing insulin sensitivity. In addition, it significantly reversed HFD-induced gut microbiota imbalances. Adzuki bean significantly reduced the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B); enriched the occurrence of Bifidobacterium, Prevotellaceae, Ruminococcus_1, norank_f_Muribaculaceae, Alloprevotella, Muribaculum, Turicibacter, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, and Lachnoclostridium; and returned HFD-dependent taxa (Desulfovibrionaceae, Bilophila, Ruminiclostridium_9, Blautia, and Ruminiclostridium) back to normal status. PICRUSt2 analysis showed that the changes in gut microbiota induced by adzuki bean supplementation may be associated with the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, sulfur, and cysteine and methionine; and LPS biosynthesis; and valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation.
Purpose
Our recent study has reported that whole mung bean showed better beneficial effects on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and gut microbiota disorders when compared with the decorticated ...mung bean at the same intervention dose level, suggesting that the mung bean seed coat (MBC) may play a crucial role in its health benefits. This study aims to investigate whether MBC has beneficial benefits on the prevention of HFD-induced obesity and the modulation of gut microbiota in mice when it was supplemented in HFD.
Methods
Herein, male C57BL/6 J mice were fed with normal control diet, HFD, and HFD supplemented with MBC (3–6%, w/w) for 12 weeks. The changes in physiological, histological, biochemical parameters, serum endotoxin, proinflammatory cytokines, and gut microbiota composition of mice were determined to assess the ability of MBC to alleviate HFD-induced obesity and modulate gut microbiota disorders in mice.
Results
MBC supplementation exhibited significant reductions in the HFD-induced adiposity, fat accumulation, serum lipid levels, lipopolysaccharide, and proinflammatory cytokines concentrations (
P
< 0.05), which was accompanied by improvements in hepatic steatosis and adipocyte size. Especially, the elevated fasting blood glucose and insulin resistance were also significantly improved by MBC supplementation (
P
< 0.05). Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that MBC could normalize HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis. MBC not only could promote the bloom of
Akkermansia
, but also restore several HFD-dependent taxa (
Blautia
,
Ruminiclostridium_9
,
Bilophila
, and
unclassified_f_Ruminococcaceae
) back to normal status, co-occurring with the decreases in obesity-related indices.
Conclusions
This study provides evidence that MBC may be mainly responsible for the beneficial effects of whole mung bean on preventing the HFD-induced changes, thus enlarging the application value of MBC.
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•Consumption of cooked mung bean prevents obesity in mice fed with a high-fat-diet.•Consumption of cooked mung bean ameliorates lipid metabolic disorders.•Consumption of cooked mung ...bean reduces the hepatic steatosis and adipocyte size.•The partial mechanism of mung bean’s beneficial effects involves gut microbiota.
Mung bean is shown having several health benefits, but a little bit of knowledge is known about its effects on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity or its relationship with gut microbiota composition changes. Here, it was observed that consumption of HFD supplemented with cooked mung bean (30%, w/w) for 12 weeks effectively alleviated body weight gain and lipid metabolic disorders, which was accompanied by a decrease in hepatic steatosis and adipocyte size. Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA revealed that mung bean supplementation prevented the HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, which was likely associated with the decreased relative abundance of several HFD-dependent taxa (Ruminiclostridium_9, Mucispirillum, Bilophila, Blautia, Ruminiclostridium, and Odoribacter), and the increased relative abundance of norank_f__Muribaculaceae. Spearman’s correlation analysis indicated that those genera were closely correlated with obesity-related indices. Collectively, the prevention of obesity by mung bean supplementation was at least partially mediated by structural modulation of gut microbiota.
Foxtail millet (FM) is receiving ongoing increased attention due to its beneficial health effects, including the hypoglycemic effect. However, the underlying mechanisms of the hypoglycemic effect ...have been underexplored. In the present study, the hypoglycemic effect of FM supplementation was confirmed again in high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats with significantly decreased fasting glucose (FG), glycated serum protein, and areas under the glucose tolerance test (p < 0.05). We employed 16S rRNA and liver RNA sequencing technologies to identify the target gut microbes and signaling pathways involved in the hypoglycemic effect of FM supplementation. The results showed that FM supplementation significantly increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Ruminococcus_2, which were significantly negatively correlated with FG and 2-h glucose. FM supplementation significantly reversed the trends of gene expression in diabetic rats. Specifically, FM supplementation inhibited gluconeogenesis, stimulated glycolysis, and restored fatty acid synthesis through activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. FM also reduced inflammation through inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Spearman’s correlation analysis indicated a complicated set of interdependencies among the gut microbiota, signaling pathways, and metabolic parameters. Collectively, the above results suggest that the hypoglycemic effect of FM was at least partially mediated by the increased relative abundance of Lactobacillus, activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway.
•Ultrasonic degradation leads to a more homologous dextran solution with lower Mw.•Malhotra model describes the molecular weight kinetics of all dextrans adequately.•Chain scission mechanism of ...dextran follows the midpoint scission model (R2>0.99).
Ultrasonic degradation of six dextran samples with different initial molecular weights (IMW) has been performed to investigate the degradation behavior and chain scission mechanism of dextrans. The weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and polydispersity index (D value) were monitored by High Performance Gel Permeation Chromatography (HPGPC). Results showed that Mw and D value decreased with increasing ultrasonic time, resulting in a more homologous dextran solution with lower molecular weight. A significant degradation occurred in dextrans with higher IMW, particularly at the initial stage of the ultrasonic treatment. The Malhotra model was found to well describe the molecular weight kinetics for all dextran samples. Experimental data was fitted into two chain scission models to study dextran chain scission mechanism and the model performance was compared. Results indicated that the midpoint scission model agreed well with experimental results, with a linear regression factor of R2>0.99.
Disturbances in the gut microbiota and its derived metabolites are closely related to the occurrence and development of hepatic steatosis. The white kidney bean (WKB), as an excellent source of ...protein, dietary fiber, and phytochemicals, has recently received widespread attention and might exhibit beneficial effects on a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hepatic steatosis via targeting gut microbiota and its metabolites. The results indicated that HFD, when supplemented with WKB for 12 weeks, could potently reduce obesity symptoms, serum lipid profiles, and glucose, as well as improve the insulin resistance and liver function markers in mice, thereby alleviating hepatic steatosis. An integrated fecal microbiome and metabolomics analysis further demonstrated that WKB was able to normalize HFD-induced gut dysbiosis in mice, thereby mediating the alterations of a wide range of metabolites. Particularly, WKB remarkably increased the relative abundance of probiotics (
,
, and
) and inhibited the growth of hazardous bacteria (
,
, and
) in diet-induced hepatic steatosis mice. Moreover, the significant differential metabolites altered by WKB were annotated in lipid metabolism, which could ameliorate hepatic steatosis via regulating glycerophospholipid metabolism. This study elucidated the role of WKB from the perspective of microbiome and metabolomics in preventing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which provides new insights for its application in functional foods.
Chinese yam is a "medicine food homology" food with medical properties, but little is known about its health benefits on hyperlipidemia. Furthermore, the effect of peeling processing on the efficacy ...of Chinese yam is still unclear. In this study, the improvement effects of whole Chinese yam (WY) and peeled Chinese yam (PY) on high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced hyperlipidemic mice were explored by evaluating the changes in physiological, biochemical, and histological parameters, and their modulatory effects on gut microbiota were further illustrated. The results show that both WY and PY could significantly attenuate the HFD-induced obesity phenotype, accompanied by the mitigative effect on epididymis adipose damage and hepatic tissue injury. Except for the ameliorative effect on TG, PY retained the beneficial effects of WY on hyperlipemia. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that WY and PY reshaped the gut microbiota composition, especially the bloom of several beneficial bacterial strains (
,
, and
) and the reduction in some HFD-dependent taxa (
,
, and
). PICRUSt analysis showed that WY and PY could significantly regulate lipid transport and metabolism-related pathways. These findings suggest that Chinese yam can alleviate hyperlipidemia via the modulation of the gut microbiome, and peeling treatment had less of an effect on the lipid-lowering efficacy of yam.
Dysbiosis of gut microbiota and its derived metabolites has been linked to the occurrence and development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Our previous study has demonstrated that mung bean coat ...(MBC) might be mainly responsible for the beneficial effects of whole mung bean on high fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic disorders. To investigate whether MBC, which is rich in dietary fiber and phytochemicals, can protect against HFD-induced hepatic steatosis in mice via targeting gut microbiota and its metabolites, we conducted this study. Results showed that MBC could effectively alleviative the obese phenotype, reduce the lipid accumulation and insulin resistance, and improve the hepatic oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Furthermore, MBC significantly prevented the HFD-induced changes in the structure and composition of gut microbiota, characterized by promoting the bloom of Akkermansia, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, and norank_f_Muribaculaceae, and along with the elevated short-chain fatty acids concentrations. Non-targeted metabolomic analysis indicated a metabolism disorder that was obviously improved by MBC via regulating sphingolipid metabolism and α-linolenic acid metabolism. These findings suggested that MBC could improve hepatic steatosis through manipulating the crosstalk between gut microbiota and its metabolites.
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