Arctic berry extracts target the gut-liver axis to alleviate metabolic endotoxemia, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in diet-induced obese mice.

There is growing evidence that fruit polyphenols exert beneficial effects on the metabolic syndrome but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of polyphenolic extracts from five Arctic berries in a model of diet-induced obesity. C57Bl/6J male mice were fed a high fat/high sucrose diet and orally treated with berry extracts (200 mg/kg) for 8 weeks. Treatment with extracts of cloudberry, alpine bearberry and lingonberry, but not bog bilberry or crowberry, improved insulin resistance and post-prandial hyperinsulinemia, findings associated with reduced liver triglyceride deposition, improved hepatic insulin clearance, blunted intestinal inflammation and reduced lipopolysaccharide leakage. These traits were associated with major taxonomic and functional alterations in the gut microbiota. Our findings revealed novel mechanisms by which polyphenolic extracts from alpine bearberry, lingonberry and especially cloudberry target the gut-liver axis and protects from metabolic endotoxemia, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. These results support the potential benefits of these Arctic berries and their integration into health programs to help attenuate obesity-related chronic inflammation and metabolic disorders.