Fucoidans from Pearsonothuria graeffei prevent obesity by regulating intestinal lipid metabolism and inflammation related signalling pathways.

Background : Fucoidans extracted from sea cucumber Pearsonothuria graeffei (fuc- Pg ) are rich in 4- O -sulfation, and have been shown to be potential functional polysaccharides for preventing metabolic syndromes. Objective : The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of fuc- Pg on the prevention of obesity and its underlying mechanism. Method : Mice were fed a normal diet, high-fat diet (HFD), HFD plus low and high dosage of fuc- Pg , and HFD plus simvastatin for 8 weeks. Results : fuc- Pg intervention could significantly decrease weight gain and fat accumulation in the HFD-fed mice. Moreover, fuc- Pg improved serum lipid profile by decreasing serum concentrations of TG, TC, LDL-C, sCD36, ApoB48, and ApoB100 compared with the HFD group. HFD-induced upregulation of intestinal CD36, FABP-1, P-ERK1, and the ratio of p-ERK/ERK was reversed by the fuc- Pg treatment. Moreover, fuc- Pg improved the normal function of white adipose tissue by increasing the expression of UCP1, PPAR-γ, and PGC-1α in the HFD-fed mice. Furthermore, fuc- Pg alleviated systemic inflammation by reducing serum pro-inflammatory factors and breaking the TLR4/NF-κB pathway in both the colon and liver. Conclusion : Fuc- Pg is a potential functional polysaccharide for preventing obesity and systemic inflammation caused by HFD.