Dietary fibers obtained from Caulerpa lentillifera prevent high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice by regulating the gut microbiota and metabolite profiles

Due to its expanded farming and growing consumption, Caulerpa lentillifera has received extensive attention. In the present study, the physicochemical properties of insoluble dietary fibers from C. lentillifera (CL-IDFs) were evaluated in vitro, and 16S rRNA sequencing analysis as well as non-targeted metabolomics were performed to investigate the hypolipidemic effects of CL-IDFs and their combined supplementation (CL-TDFs, composed of CL-IDFs and soluble polysaccharides of C. lentillifera) in vivo. The results show that CL-IDFs exhibited superior physicochemical capacities on the binding of water, oil, and glucose. In addition, CL-IDF and CL-TDF administration could regulate the gut microbiota, increase acetic and propionic acid levels, and restore the metabolic disorders of amino, fatty, and bile acids in obese mice. Notably, considering the processing cost of C. lentillifera and the equal anti-obesity effects of CL-IDFs and CL-TDFs, fresh whole-food supplementation of C. lentillifera may be a cost-effective way to prevent obesity.