ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Portulaca oleracea Polysaccharide Alleviates Obesity in Mice with Long-Term High-Fat Diet by Regulating Gut Microbiota and Metabolites
Qiang Fu 1
Chenglin Zhi 1
Siyi Cai 1
Zijian Li 1
Hui Luo 1
Hongying Gao 1
Elvis Agbo 1
Xiaoliu Huang 1
Yushan Huang 2
1. Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China
2. Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
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Abstract
Abstract: This study investigated the ameliorating effects of Portulaca oleracea polysaccharide (POP) on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice. After a 17-week intervention with free access to an HFD containing 3.2% POP, obesity-related parameters, gut microbiota, and metabolomic changes were analyzed. The results showed that POP significantly reduced obesity severity and lipid levels, and improved glucose homeostasis in mice. This intervention increased gut microbiota diversity, decreased the ratio between Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes (F/B), and significantly increased the relative abundances of Parabacteroides, Acetatifactor, and Incertae_Sedis, while inhibiting the colonization of Anaerotruncus, Enterorhabdus, and Defluviitaleaceae_UCG-011. Metabolomic analysis identified 9r,10s-Epome, LacCer (d18:1/12:0), N-(4,7-Dihydroxy-8-Methyl-2-Oxo-2H-Chromen-3-Yl)-2,2-Dimethylchromane-6-Carboxamide (NDC), and Succinyladenosine as common differential metabolites among the Con, HFD, and POP groups. Notably, LacCer (d18:1/12:0) and NDC were strongly correlated with indicators such as body weight, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Our study provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the molecular mechanism by which POP improves obesity.
Summary
Keywords
Anti-obesity, Gut Microbiota, Metabolites, Mice, Portulaca oleracea polysaccharide
Received
03 December 2025
Accepted
05 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Fu, Zhi, Cai, Li, Luo, Gao, Agbo, Huang and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Xiaoliu Huang
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