Ginseng polysaccharide components attenuate obesity and liver lipid accumulation by regulating fecal microbiota and hepatic lysine degradation

The increasing incidence of obesity has led to widespread attention in the exploration of natural ingredients. Ginseng polysaccharides (PGP), the main components from Panax ginseng, have been reported potential effect to attenuate obesity and regulate lipid metabolism. In this study, we found that PGP inhibited the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced weight gain, fat ratio and fat tissue weight after 8-week administration. Serum and liver lipid analysis showed that PGP decreased the levels of triglyceride and total cholesterol, which was mediated by the inhibition of key genes for fatty acid and cholesterol metabolisms. Metabolomics studies showed that the inhibitory effect of PGP on liver lipid accumulation was significantly correlated with its regulation of citric acid cycle and lysine degradation. PGP regulated the expression of genes related to lysine degradation in both liver tissue and hepatocytes. In addition, PGP reshaped the composition of fecal microbiota at the genus and species levels in obese mice. Spearman's correlation analysis demonstrated that Staphylococcus sciuri, Staphylococcus lentus, and Pseudoflavonifractor sp. An85 may be the potential targets that PGP maintains the abundance of l-lysine against obesity. It concluded that PGP can attenuate obesity and liver lipid accumulation by regulating fecal microbiota and hepatic lysine degradation.