Polysaccharides from Ostrea rivularis rebuild the balance of gut microbiota to ameliorate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in ApoE−/− mice

The purpose of this study was to investigate the preventive effects of polysaccharide from Ostrea rivularis (ORP) on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in mice and the underlying mechanism. The results showed that NAFLD model group mice had significant fatty liver lesions. ORP could significantly reduce TC, TG and LDL level, and increase HDL level in serum of HFD mice. Besides, it could also reduce the contents of serum AST and ALT and alleviate pathological changes of fatty liver disease. ORP could also enhance the intestinal barrier function. 16sRNA analysis showed that ORP could reduce the abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria and the ratio of Firmicutes/ Bacteroidetes at the phylum level. These results suggested that ORP could regulate the composition of gut microbiota in NAFLD mice, enhance intestinal barrier function, reduce intestinal permeability, and finally delay the progress and reduce the occurrence of NAFLD. In brief, ORP is an ideal polysaccharide for prevention and treatment of NAFLD, which can be developed as functional food or candidate drugs.