Depolymerized Fucoidan Alleviates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Association with Alterations in Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Profiles.
- 1School of Smart New Agricultural Industry, Dalian Art College, Dalian 116600, China.
Abstract
Obesity is a major global health concern associated with various metabolic disorders. Fucoidan, a seaweed-derived sulfated polysaccharide, has shown potential in alleviating obesity through modulation of gut microbiota. However, comparative effects of native and depolymerized fucoidan (Dfuc) on HFD-induced obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis remain unclear. In this study, we compared the anti-obesity effects of fucoidan and Dfuc and evaluated their regulatory effects on gut microbiota and microbial metabolites in HFD-fed mice. Results showed that fucoidan and Dfuc reduced body weight gain, fat accumulation and hepatic lipid abnormalities. They also alleviated liver injury and oxidative stress and inflammation in hepatic and colonic tissues, with Dfuc significantly improving parameters such as serum AST, hepatic MDA, SOD activity, and TNF-α expression compared to the HF group. Furthermore, gut microbiota analysis showed that both fucoidan and Dfuc treatments enriched Alloprevotella and Allobaculum, while fucoidan increased Akkermansia and Blautia, and Dfuc promoted Bifidobacterium and Romboutsia. Moreover, metabolite analysis showed that Dfuc significantly increased fecal acetate and propionate concentrations, and induced more pronounced changes in fecal metabolites related to amino acid, carbohydrate, and bile acid metabolism. These findings suggest that Dfuc holds potential as a functional food ingredient for alleviating HFD-induced obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis.
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BibTeX
@article{sun2026depolymerized,
title = {{Depolymerized Fucoidan Alleviates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Association with Alterations in Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Profiles.}},
author = {Xiaona Sun and Lin Bai and Changyu Su and Chunqing Ai and Xiaomeng Ren and Fanhua Kong and Shuang Song},
journal = {Foods (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/foods15193508},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883615},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Depolymerized Fucoidan Alleviates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Association with Alterations in Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Profiles.
AU - Xiaona Sun
AU - Lin Bai
AU - Changyu Su
AU - Chunqing Ai
AU - Xiaomeng Ren
AU - Fanhua Kong
AU - Shuang Song
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Foods (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/foods15193508
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883615
AB - Obesity is a major global health concern associated with various metabolic disorders. Fucoidan, a seaweed-derived sulfated polysaccharide, has shown potential in alleviating obesity through modulation of gut microbiota. However, comparative effects of native and depolymerized fucoidan (Dfuc) on HFD-induced obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis remain unclear. In this study, we compared the anti-obesity effects of fucoidan and Dfuc and evaluated their regulatory effects on gut microbiota and microbial metabolites in HFD-fed mice. Results showed that fucoidan and Dfuc reduced body weight gain, fat accumulation and hepatic lipid abnormalities. They also alleviated liver injury and oxidative stress and inflammation in hepatic and colonic tissues, with Dfuc significantly improving parameters such as serum AST, hepatic MDA, SOD activity, and TNF-α expression compared to the HF group. Furthermore, gut microbiota analysis showed that both fucoidan and Dfuc treatments enriched Alloprevotella and Allobaculum, while fucoidan increased Akkermansia and Blautia, and Dfuc promoted Bifidobacterium and Romboutsia. Moreover, metabolite analysis showed that Dfuc significantly increased fecal acetate and propionate concentrations, and induced more pronounced changes in fecal metabolites related to amino acid, carbohydrate, and bile acid metabolism. These findings suggest that Dfuc holds potential as a functional food ingredient for alleviating HFD-induced obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis.
SN - 2304-8158
ER -