Corn peptides alleviate high‐fat diet‐induced obesity and metabolic disorders in mice by regulating adipogenesis and intestinal microbial disorders

Abstract BACKGROUND Corn peptides (CPs) are natural bioactive peptides with multiple beneficial effects. A previous study found that CPs enhanced endurance by activating the AMPK/PGC‐1 α signaling pathway and increasing intestinal probiotics involved in lipid metabolism, leading to the hypothesis that CPs may have anti‐obesity effects. RESULTS The current study established an obesity model by feeding mice a high‐fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks, followed by CPs for 4 weeks. The results show that CPs effectively decreased bodyweight, epididymal fat weight, and liver fat accumulation in obese mice. They also show that CPs administration reduced lipid levels and metabolic disorders and ameliorated liver steatosis in HFD‐fed obese mice. Corn peptides significantly increased the expression levels of PPAR γ and PGC‐1 α proteins in subcutaneous inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT), while those of SREBP1 and FAS were decreased. Corn proteins also increased the abundance of intestinal probiotic bacteria and reduced the harmful bacteria count, which may contribute to their anti‐obesity effects. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database revealed significant differences in genes that were differentially expressed in response to treatment with CPs. Genes associated with various transporters, including ATP‐binding cassette transporters, and with lipid metabolism were enriched. Those related to amino acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, insulin resistance, and atherosclerosis were downregulated. There were also significant changes in genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism. CONCLUSIONS Corn proteins can alleviate HFD‐induced weight gain and related metabolic disorders by regulating lipid adipogenesis and intestinal microecology. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.