Arabinoxylans and gelled arabinoxylans used as anti-obesogenic agents could protect the stability of intestinal microbiota of rats consuming high-fat diets.

This study evaluated the effect of using arabinoxylans (AX) and gelled arabinoxylans (AxGel) as anti-obesogenic agents on the faecal microbiota of rats fed with a high-fat (HF) diet. Results revealed that the HF content in diet caused obesity in rats and alterations in the taxonomic and functional profiles of faecal microbiota. However, these effects were lessened when AX and AxGel were used as ingredients of the HF diet. Metabolisms of amino acids and energy, as well as genetic information processing, were negatively affected when the rats consumed the HF diet; however, this effect was not observed if AX and AxGel were included as part of the diet formulation. Results suggest that AX may act as a prebiotic agent. Therefore, AX and AxGel could be considered as hypothetical protectors of the intestinal microbiota against HF consumption.