{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.023681858802502235, 'fraction_numerical': 0.007596067917783735, 'mean_word_length': 5.5276967930029155, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Modulation of Gut Microbiota by Dietary Pomegranate Extract and Inulin in Mice Fed an Obesogenic Diet

Growing evidence suggests that dysbiosis of gut microbiota is associated with pathogenesis of a variety of human diseases. Using dietary intervention to shape the composition and metabolism of the gut microbiota is increasingly recognized. In the present study, we investigated the effects of pomegranate extract (PomX) and inulin alone or in combination on the cecal microbiota structure and function in a diet induced obesity mouse model. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four experimental groups and consumed either high‐fat/high‐sucrose [HF/HS (32% energy from fat, 25% energy from sucrose, 17% energy from protein)] diet, HF/HS diet supplemented with PomX (0.25%), or inulin (10%) or PomX and inulin in combination for 4 weeks. Results revealed at family level, PomX significantly increased the proportion of Turicibacteraceae and Ruminococcaceae. Inulin significantly increased the proportion of Verrucomicrobiaceae (genus level Akkermansia) but inhibited Clostridiaceae. The combination of PomX and inulin, greatly increased the abundance of Verrucomicrobiaceae and Rikenellaceae. In addition, bifidogenic effect was observed only with the PomX and inulin combined treatment. Inulin supplementation showed lower species richness of gut microbiota compared to mice fed with HF/HS or HF/HS/PomX, and the reduction was reversed by the addition of PomX. While the measurement of species richness with evenness index showed no difference between the treatment groups and HF/HS control. PomX and inulin alone or in combination had distinct microbial clusters analyzed by both weighted and unweighted UniFrac Beta‐Diversity principle coordinates. In addition to the microbiota structure changes, a total of 19 KEGG biological pathways were significantly regulated in the gut microbiota with PomX and inulin alone or combined treatment. Our results demonstrated that gut microbiota and their biological pathways were differentially regulated by PomX and inulin alone or in combination. It is therefore very important to consider the interaction among bioactive components of food when evaluating potential prebiotic effects.