Modulation of the Gut Microbiota and Liver Transcriptome by Red Yeast Rice and Monascus Pigment Fermented by Purple Monascus SHM1105 in Rats Fed with a High-Fat Diet

Abstract

Hyperlipidemia can easily cause atherosclerosis and induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Red yeast rice (RYR) contains a variety of active ingredients and is commonly used as medicine and food, and has pharmacological effects such as lowering blood lipids. In this study, we select Monascus strain SHM1105 with a high yield of Monacolin K and monascus pigment (PIG), and studied the effects of the RYR and PIG fermented by this strain on blood lipids, intestinal flora, and liver transcriptome in hyperlipidemia model rats. The experimental results show that, compared with the high-fat model group, the weight growth rate, liver weight ratio, kidney weight ratio, spleen weight ratio, and fat weight ratio of rats in the gavage lovastatin (LOV), RYR, and PIG group were all significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Intervention with RYR and PIG can significantly reduce the serum TC, TG, and LDL-C levels, which has the effect of lowering blood lipids. The 16SrDNA sequencing results showed that the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes decreased significantly (p ≤ 0.01) after the intervention of LOV, RYR, and PIG; the abundance of the ratio of Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, and Bacteroidales-S24-7-group also changed. The combined analysis of transcriptome and metabolome showed that lovastatin, RYR, and PIG can all improve lipid metabolism in rats by regulating Steroid hormone biosynthesis, Glycerolipid metabolism, and the Arachidonic acid metabolism pathway. In addition, RYR and PIG also have a unique way of regulating blood lipids. Although a lot of research on the lipid-lowering components of Monascus rice and the single pigment component of Monascus has been carried out, the actual application is RYR and pigments as mixtures, as a mixture of RYR and PIG contains a variety of biologically active ingredients, and each component may have a synergistic effect. Hence it has a lipid-lowering mechanism that lovastatin does not have. Therefore, RYR and PIG are effective in reducing lipid potential development and can be utilized in functional foods.

Untargeted Gut Metabolomics to Delve the Interplay between Selenium Supplementation and Gut Microbiota

“…It is known that Lachnospiraceae members are involved in the production of butyrate and consequently in the SCFA metabolism. Moreover, some authors have described that Lachnospiraceae are related to changes in lipid metabolism, as well as specific nutrients . Likewise, we found that Flavonifactor and Oscillibacter members from the Ruminococcaceae family, which was influenced by Se-supplementation, were positively correlated with steroids (1,24,25-trihydroxyvitamin D2, 5-cholestane-3,7,12,23-tetrol, and 4-hydroxymethyl-4-methyl-5-cholesta-8,24-dien-3-oland) in Abx-Se mice.…”

“…Moreover, some authors have described that Lachnospiraceae are related to changes in lipid metabolism, as well as specific nutrients. 49 Likewise, we found that Flavonifactor and Oscillibacter members from the Ruminococcaceae family, which was influenced by Se-supplementation, were positively correlated with steroids (1,24,25-trihydroxyvitamin D2, 5cholestane-3,7,12,23-tetrol, and 4-hydroxymethyl-4-methyl-5cholesta-8,24-dien-3-oland) in Abx-Se mice. Some authors have reported the link between the stimulation of Ruminococcaceae species and Se-yeast supplementation, contributing to the maintenance of gut health and providing enzymatic ability to degrade cellulose and hemicellulose.…”

Cooked Adzuki Bean Reduces High-Fat Diet-Induced Body Weight Gain, Ameliorates Inflammation, and Modulates Intestinal Homeostasis in Mice

“…Desulfovibrionaceae, Helicobacter , and Bilophila produce LPS ( 64 – 67 ). In addition, Mucispirillum and Ruminococcaceae damage the intestinal mucosa ( 68 , 69 ). Oscillibacter and Ruminiclostridium are related to intestinal dysfunction ( 70 – 73 ).…”

Unearthing the alleviatory mechanisms of hydrogen sulfide in aluminum toxicity in rice

“…The RNA, which met the experimental requirements, was enriched by Oligo(dT) beads and reverse transcribed to cDNA immediately after fragmenting into short fragments. The synthesis of second-strand cDNA, puri cation of cDNA fragments, ampli cation of cDNA, and sequencing by Illumina HiSeq TM 2500 were completed by Gene Denovo Biotechnology Co. (Guangzhou, China) according to Yang et al (2021). Reads were mapped to the ribosome RNA (rRNA) database by Bowtie2 (Langmead and Salzberg, 2012).…”