A high fat and
cholesterol diet (HFCD) can modulate the gut microbiota, which is closely related with
hypercholesterolemia. This study aimed to explore the anti-
hypercholesterolemia effect of
oryzanol, and investigate whether the function of
oryzanol is associated with the gut microbiota and related metabolites.
16S rRNA and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry were applied for the gut microbiota and untargeted metabolomics, respectively. The results showed that HFCD significantly upregulated body fat accumulation and serum
lipids, including
triglyceride, total
cholesterol,
low density lipoprotein cholesterol (
LDL-c),
high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), and ratio of
LDL-c/HDL-c, which induced
hypercholesterolemia.
Oryzanol supplementation decreased body fat accumulation and serum
lipids, especially the
LDL-c concentration and
LDL-c/HDL-c ratio. In addition, the abundances of Desulfovibrio, Colidextribacter, norank_f__Oscillospiraceae, unclassified_f__Erysipelotrichaceae, unclassified_f__Oscillospiraceae, norank_f__Peptococcaceae, Oscillibacter, Bilophila and Harryflintia were increased and the abundance of norank_f__Muribaculaceae was decreased in HFCD-induced
hyperlipidemia hamsters. Metabolites were changed after HFCD treatment and 9 differential metabolites belonged to
bile acids and 8 differential metabolites belonged to
amino acids. Those genera and metabolites were significantly associated with serum
lipids. HFCD also disrupted the intestinal barrier.
Oryzanol supplementation reversed the changes of the gut microbiota and metabolites, and intestinal barrier injury was also partly relieved. This suggests that
oryzanol supplementation modulating the gut microbiota contributes to its anti-
hyperlipidemia function, especially anti-
hypercholesterolemia.