Anthocyanins from Lycium ruthenicum Murray attenuates high‐fat diet‐induced hypercholesterolemia in ApoE−/− mice are related to the modulation of gut microbiota and the ratio of conjugated to unconjugated bile acids in fecal bile acid profile

Abstract Previous findings showed that anthocyanins from Lycium ruthenicum Murray (ACN) reduced HFD‐induced hypercholesterolemia by regulating gut microbiota, but the mechanism has not been fully understood. The objective of this research was to know whether the cholesterol‐lowering impact of ACN in HFD‐induced ApoE −/− mice is related to the gut microbiota‐bile acid (BA) metabolism. Twenty‐four male ApoE −/− mice were divided into three groups: the Control group, the HFD group, and the HFD + ACN group. Here, we showed that ACN intervention reduced HFD‐induced body weight serum concentrations of TC and LDL‐C and ameliorated lipid accumulation in the liver and adipose tissues. Besides, ACN altered gut microbiota composition in HFD‐fed ApoE −/− mice. Moreover, UHPLC–MS/MS analysis revealed that ACN intervention significantly increased the ratio of conjugated to unconjugated BAs in feces induced by HFD, attributed to the increase in conjugated BAs and decrease in unconjugated BAs. Finally, the correlation analysis indicated that the above changes in fecal BA profile were linked with an increase in Bifidobacterium , Allobaculum and a decrease in Ileibacterium , Helicobacter , Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group , Blautia , Odoribacter , and Colidextribacter . In summary, ACN could alleviate HFD‐induced hypercholesterolemia in ApoE −/− mice, which was associated with the improvement of gut microbiota and modulation of fecal BA profile.