Oral administration of camellia oil ameliorates obesity and modifies the gut microbiota composition in mice fed a high-fat diet

ABSTRACT Obesity, which is often caused by adipocyte metabolism dysfunction, is rapidly becoming a serious global health issue. Studies in the literature have shown that camellia oil (Camellia oleifera Abel) exerted potential lipid regulation and other multiple biological activities. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of camellia oil on obese mice induced by a high-fat diet and to explore gut microbiota alterations after camellia oil intervention. The results showed that oral administration of camellia oil dramatically attenuated the fat deposits, serum levels of the total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, the atherosclerosis index, the hepatic steatosis and inflammation in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Meanwhile, the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in obese mice was enhanced after the camellia oil treatment. Furthermore, 16S rRNA analysis showed that certain aspects of the gut microbiota, especially the gut microbiota diversity and the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Coriobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus and Anoxybacillus, were significantly increased by camellia oil treatment while the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was decreased. Taken together, our finding suggested that camellia oil was a potential dietary supplement and functional food for ameliorating fat deposits, hyperglycemia and fatty liver, probably by modifying the gut microbiota composition.