Fructose corn syrup induces inflammatory injury and obesity by altering gut microbiota and gut microbiota-related arachidonic acid metabolism

Excessive fructose corn syrup (FCS) intake brings a series of health problems. The aim of the present study was to explore the mechanism of FCS-induced metabolic disorders from the perspective of gut microbiota. Mice were fed for 16 weeks with normal or 30% FCS drinking water. Compared to the control group, FCS caused significantly higher fat deposition, hepatic steatosis, liver and intestinal inflammatory damages (p < 0.05). FCS increased the abundance of Muribaculaceae in vivo and in vitro, which was positively correlated with the indices of metabolic disorders (p < 0.05). In vivo and in vitro data indicated that FCS enhanced the microbial function involved in pentose phosphate pathway and arachidonic acid metabolism, metabolomics further demonstrated that FCS led to an increase in prostaglandins (the catabolites of arachidonic acid) (p < 0.05). Our study confirmed that FCS can directly promote gut microbiota to synthesize inflammatory factor prostaglandins, which provides new insights and directions for the treatment of FCS-induced metabolic disorders and inflammation.