Phenolics from noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) fruit alleviate obesity in high fat diet-fed mice via modulating the gut microbiota and mitigating intestinal damage.

• NFE intervention decreased body weight and lipid accumulation in HFD-fed mice. • NFE ameliorated HFD-induced gut dysbiosis. • NFE increased SCFA-producing bacteria and decreased LPS-producing bacteria. • NFE mitigated intestinal oxidative stress and barrier dysfunction. • NFE blocked LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway to attenuate intestinal inflammation. Noni fruit has certain anti-obesity effect. However, the bioactive ingredients in noni fruit that contribute to anti-obesity activity as well as the relation between its anti-obesity activity and gut microbiota remain unclear. In this study, obese mice induced by high-fat diet (HFD) and were intervened with noni fruit phenolic extract (NFE) for 10 weeks. The results showed NFE supplementation decreased body weight, lipid accumulation in liver and adipose tissues, ameliorated gut microbiota dysbiosis by increasing short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria and decreasing lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-producing bacteria, and mitigated intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress. Moreover, NFE supplementation improved intestinal barrier dysfunction by elevating the protein expression levels of Claudin-1, Occludin and ZO-1, alleviated the HFD-induced intestinal inflammation by repressing the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway. Collectively, the findings revealed NFE intervention inhibits obesity by improving gut microbiota disorder, barrier function, and inflammation. Hence, NFE may be an effective way to ameliorate HFD-induced damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]