Journal Article

Effects of hawthorn seed oil on plasma cholesterol and gut microbiota

Chen, Zhen-Yu, Ding, Huafang, Hao, Wangjun, Ma, Ka Ying, Zhu, Hanyue, Kwek, Erika, Liu, Jianhui, He, Zouyan, Yan, Chi

2022

Overview

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. Graphical Abstract

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Arteriosclerosis / atherosclerosis / bioactive properties / Biological activity / Cardiovascular disease / Cardiovascular diseases / Care and treatment / Cholesterol / cholesterol homeostasis / cholestyramine / Chromatography / Clinical Nutrition / Coronary vessels / Crataegus / Development and progression / Diet / digestive system / Discriminant analysis / Dysbacteriosis / dysbiosis / excretion / Fatty acids / Feces / Genes / Gut microbiota / Hawthorn seed oil / Hawthorns / Health aspects / High cholesterol diet / High density lipoprotein / high fat diet / Homeostasis / Hypercholesterolemia / Inflammation / Intestinal microflora / intestinal microorganisms / Lipid metabolism / Lipids / Liver / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Metabolic Diseases / Metabolism / Metabolites / Microbiomes / Microbiota / Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms) / mRNA / nutritional intervention / Oilseeds / oxidoreductases / Peptococcus / Plasma / Proteins / risk / rRNA 16S / seed oils / Seeds / short chain fatty acids / Statistical analysis / Sterols / Variance analysis / Vegetable oils / Western blotting