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BACKGROUND: Tea catechins have been shown to have beneficial effects on the alleviation of obesity, the prevention of diabetes, and the amelioration of metabolic syndrome. The purpose of the present work is to explore the underlying mechanisms linking the intestinal microbiota and anti‐obesity benefits of green tea, oolong tea, and black tea catechins in C57BL/6J mice fed with a high‐fat diet (HFD). RESULTS: The results indicated that, after the dietary intake of three tea catechins, obesity and low‐grade inflammation were significantly alleviated. Hepatic steatosis was prevented, and this was accompanied by the upregulation of the mRNA and protein expressions of hepatic peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α (PPARα). Metagenomic analysis of fecal samples suggested that the three tea catechins similarly changed the microbiota in terms of overall structure, composition, and protein functions by regulating the metabolites, facilitating the generation of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and repressing lipopolysaccharides. CONCLUSION: The anti‐obese properties of three tea catechins were partially mediated by their positive effect on gut microbiota, hepatic steatosis alleviation, and anti‐inflammatory activity. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repeated reuse of frying oil raises health concerns due to the accumulation of oxidative products after each frying cycle. Gut microbiota is integral in lipid metabolism and immune regulation. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of thermally-oxidized corn oil and lard on gut microbiota in relation to atherosclerosis, inflammatory cytokines, and plasma lipids. Male Golden Syrian hamsters were randomly divided into four groups and fed one of four diets containing fresh corn oil (CF), oxidized corn oil (CO), fresh lard (LF), and oxidized lard (LO), for six weeks. CO and LO were prepared by deep-frying potatoes in corn oil or lard for seven days. Results indicated that oxidized oil and lard caused the loss of species diversity and richness of gut microbiota. Feeding CO and LO also reduced the body and adipose tissue weights, associated with genus Acetatifactor and Allobaculum. Plasma triacylglycerols significantly increased by 51% in the CO and 35% in the LO group compared with that in their CF and LF counterparts, respectively. CO could also affect the abundance of specific bacteria genera: Bacteroides, Barnesiella, Acetatifactor, Allobaculum, Clostridium_IV, Clostridium_XIVa, Coprococcus, Lactococcus, Paraprevotella, Parasutterella, and Oscillibacter. In addition, CO and LO could adversely remodel gut composition and affect intestinal production of short-chain fatty acids, pro-inflammatory biomarkers (LPS and IL-6), anti-inflammatory biomarker IL-10, and atherosclerotic progression. It was concluded that frying oil could adversely modulate the gut microbiota and exacerbate the atherosclerosis at least in a hypercholesterolemia hamster model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hypercholesterolemia and gut microbiota dysbiosis are associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Hawthorn fruits has shown to be cardioprotective and hypocholesterolemic. However, no studies to date have studied the biological activity of hawthorn seed oil (HSO). The present study was to investigate if HSO could favourably reduce plasma cholesterol and modulate gut microbiota in hypercholesterolemia hamsters. Methods: Golden Syrian hamsters (age, 8 weeks) were randomly divided into five groups (n = 8, each) and fed one of the following five diets, namely a non-cholesterol diet, a high cholesterol diet containing 0.15% cholesterol (HCD); a HCD diet with addition of 4.75% HSO (LHSO), a HCD diet with addition of 9.5% HSO (HHSO), a HCD diet with addition of 0.50% cholestyramine as positive control diet. After 6-week dietary intervention, plasma lipids, inflammatory markers, atherosclerosis plaque, hepatic and fecal lipids were quantified. Microbiota in fresh feces were analysed by sequencing 16S rRNA genes, while RT-PCR and Western blot analyses were employed to quantify the expression of genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis. Results: HSO at a dose of 9.5% HSO could decrease plasma cholesterol and non-HDL-cholesterol by 15%. Additionally, both HSO experimental groups also suppressed mRNA of 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-CoA Reductase (HMG-CoA-R). Supplementation of HSO at 4.75% could significantly increase the excretion of fecal acidic sterols, accompanied by elevation of short-chain fatty acid levels in feces. The analyses of gut microbiome indicated that HSO supplementation could selectively alter the genera abundance of gut bacteria that were correlated with cholesterol metabolism including unclassified_f__Christensenellaceae, Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_ group, norank_o_Gastranaerophilales, Faecalibaculum, Peptococcus, norank_f__Clostridiales_vadinBB60_group and Ruminococcus_2. Conclusions: HSO supplementation was able to decrease plasma cholesterol by favourably modulating gut microbiota composition and gut-derived metabolites associated with cholesterol regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Peony (Paeonia spp.) seed oil (PSO) contains a high amount of α-linolenic acid. The effects of PSO on hypercholesterolemia and gut microbiota remains unclear. The present study was to investigate effects of PSO supplementation on cholesterol metabolism and modulation of the gut microbiota. Methods: Male Golden Syrian hamsters (n = 40) were randomly divided into five groups (n = 8, each) fed one of the following diets namely low-cholesterol diet (LCD); high cholesterol diet (HCD); HCD with PSO substituting 50% lard (LPSO), PSO substituting 100% lard (HPSO) and HCD with addition of 0.5% cholestyramine (PCD), respectively, for 6 weeks. Results: PSO supplementation dose-dependently reduced plasma total cholesterol (TC) by 9–14%, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) by 7–18% and triacylglycerols (TG) by 14–34% (p < 0.05). In addition, feeding PSO diets reduced the formation of plaque lesions by 49–61% and hepatic lipids by 9–19% compared with feeding HCD diet (p < 0.01). PSO also altered relative genus abundance of unclassified_f__Coriobacteriaceae, unclassified_f__Erysipelotrichaceae, Peptococcus, unclassified_f__Ruminococcaceae, norank_o__Mollicutes_RF9 and Christensenellaceae_R-7_group. Conclusions: It was concluded that PSO was effective in reducing plasma cholesterol and hepatic lipids and favorably modulating gut microbiota associated with cholesterol metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promulgation of Chinese Charity Law in March 2016 was expected to break the long-term monopoly of governmental charities in public fundraising in China. However, governments' regulating practices on fundraising seem to be still quite ambivalent during the post-legislation era, indicating endogenous contradictions of the Charity Law. In order to explore the legislative logic of Chinese Charity Law on public fundraising regulation, this paper, employing an analytical framework of state-society relations, historically examines all relevant laws and policies of China that deal with the fundraising regulation issue since the reform and opening-up. It is revealed that a "control thinking" of the Chinese state towards civic fundraising has been dominating the field all the way, and that the recent loosening of state control was compelled by bottom-up social dynamics. The paper argues that, under the constant influence of state control thinking, the institutional adjustments of Chinese Charity Law on opening spaces for civic fundraising tend to be quite passive and endogenously contradictory, leading to both validity and limitations of the law in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]