Adzuki Bean Water Extract Attenuates Obesity by Modulating M2/M1 Macrophage Polarization and Gut Microbiota Composition

Abstract

Scope Obesity is a chronic condition resulting in excessive fat accumulation in adipose tissues. Adipose tissue is now considered as an immune organ, at the crossroads between metabolism and immunity. Thus, this study investigates the effects of adzuki beans on obesity and gut microbiota in high fat diet‐induced mice. Methods and results In this study, adzuki bean hot water extract (AWE) is determined to have the most significant anti‐adipogenic effect; it is able to inhibit lipid accumulation in 3T3‐L1 adipocytes and reduces body weight and adipose tissue weight in a dose‐dependent manner. AWE treatment also decreases M1‐polarized adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) while inducing M2‐polarized ATMs. The number and size of fat vacuoles in liver lesions are significantly reduced, indicating that AWE could ameliorate steatosis in high fat diet‐induced mice. The results also demonstrate that AWE‐treated groups inhibit adipogenesis via activating the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway and reduce peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma and CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins α expression. Moreover, the studies confirm that AWE decreases obesity through modulating gut microbiota. Conclusion The results demonstrate that AWE supplementation ameliorates high fat diet‐induced obesity and gut microbiota composition and suggests that AWE may have the potential to be developed into a functional food to improve metabolic disorders.

Adzuki Bean Alleviates Obesity and Insulin Resistance Induced by a High-Fat Diet and Modulates Gut Microbiota in Mice

“…In the current study, HFD feeding led to significantly decreased community richness, which was reversed by adzuki bean supplementation ( Figure 5 A,B). Analysis of β diversity also showed that the gut microbiota composition changed significantly in response to adzuki bean supplementation and HFD feeding ( Figure 5 E,F), which was consistent with previous studies [ 19 ]. The F / B ratio is a biomarker of gut microbiota imbalances and is closely associated with obesity [ 27 ].…”

“…The present study showed that adzuki bean supplementation significantly inhibited AST and ALT activity and reduced hepatic steatosis caused by HFD, indicating a protective effect of adzuki bean on the liver ( Figure 2 B and Figure 3 A,B). Whole adzuki bean and hot water extracts from adzuki bean can attenuate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and HFD-induced hepatic steatosis, respectively [ 13 , 19 ]. Obesity-related metabolic syndrome is usually associated with changes in glucose tolerance [ 20 ].…”

“…Adzuki bean polysaccharides are reported to significantly reverse insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in diabetic rats [ 11 ]. In addition, saponins from adzuki bean and extracts containing adzuki bean polyphenols can significantly regulate lipid metabolism disorders in obese mice [ 10 , 19 ]. Due to the complex composition of whole adzuki bean, identifying the specific substances of adzuki bean responsible for alleviating obesity and regulating gut microbiota dysbiosis in HFD-fed mice has yet to be done.…”

A Natural Degradant of Curcumin, Feruloylacetone Inhibits Cell Proliferation via Inducing Cell Cycle Arrest and a Mitochondrial Apoptotic Pathway in HCT116 Colon Cancer Cells

“…The secondary anti-mouse and anti-rabbit antibodies were purchased from Cell Signaling. The Bio-Rad protein assay dye reagent was purchased from Bio-Rad Laboratories (Munich, Germany) [ 25 ].…”

SHIP-1 Regulates Phagocytosis and M2 Polarization Through the PI3K/Akt–STAT5–Trib1 Circuit in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection

“…Alternatively activated macrophages (M2) are activated by IL-4 and IL-13 and participate in tissue remodeling and fibrosis by regulation of anti-inflammatory response signal production through secreting IL-10 and TGF-β (11,12). M2/M1 macrophage polarization is essential for maintaining macrophage phagocytosis and immune function (13,14). Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5), which plays a critical role in the development of the hematopoietic system, can dominate the function of multiple cytokines by regulating the transcription of distinct target genes (15).…”