We investigated the regulatory effects of citrus pectin oligosaccharides (POS) from an innovative, chemically controllable degradation process on cholesterol metabolism and the gut microbial composition. The modulatory role of the intestinal flora was explored. Four-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were fed either a standard diet; a high-fat (HF) diet; or a HF diet with 0.15, 0.45, and 0.9 g/kg body weight POS for 30 days. POS reduced serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) in a dose-dependent manner. The relative abundances of specific bacterial groups in the feces and the concentrations of their metabolites were higher in the POS groups. There were significant correlations among Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Bacteroides and short-chain fatty acids, as well as among serum TC, LDL-C, fecal bile acids, and liver cholesterol 7-α-hydroxylase and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase. These findings indicate that the prepared POS exhibited hypocholesterolemic effects and that the potential regulatory mechanisms of citrus POS on cholesterol metabolism are modulated by specific bacterial groups together with their metabolites.

中文翻译：

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肠道菌群及其代谢产物在调节C57BL / 6小鼠柑橘果胶低聚糖降低胆固醇的作用中的作用。

我们调查了来自创新的，化学可控的降解过程中的柑橘果胶低聚糖（POS）对胆固醇代谢和肠道微生物组成的调节作用。探索了肠道菌群的调节作用。给四周大的雄性C57BL / 6小鼠喂食标准饮食；高脂饮食 或以0.15、0.45和0.9 g / kg体重的POS进行HF饮食30天。POS以剂量依赖性方式降低血清总胆固醇（TC）和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）。粪便中特定细菌群的相对丰度及其代谢产物的浓度较高。双歧杆菌，乳酸杆菌，拟杆菌和短链脂肪酸之间以及血清TC，LDL-C，粪便胆汁酸之间存在显着相关性，肝胆固醇7-α-羟化酶和3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶。这些发现表明，所制备的POS显示出降胆固醇作用，并且柑橘POS对胆固醇代谢的潜在调节机制由特定细菌群及其代谢物调节。