Gut microbiota analysis of mice treated with inulin, rhubarb and combination of rhubarb and inulin. Synergystic effects of rhubarb and inulin improves high-fat-high-sugar diet-induced metabolic disorders in mice: impact on energy expenditure, brown adipose tissue activity and microbiota

Consumption of prebiotics and plant-based compounds have many beneficial health effects and are considered as promising nutritional strategy for the treatment of metabolic diseases through modulation of gut microbiota. In the present study, we assessed the separated and combined effect of inulin and rhubarb on diet-induced metabolic disease. We showed that increased total body and fat mass as well as obesity-associated metabolic phenotype that occurred upon high-fat and high-sucrose diet (HFHS) were abolished by supplementation with both inulin and rhubarb. These effects were associated with increased energy expenditure, brown adipose tissue activity and expression of lipolytic markers in white adipose tissue. Despite modifications of intestinal gut microbiota and bile acid compositions by inulin or rhubarb alone, combination with rhubarb had minor additional impact on these parameters. Together, these results suggest that combination of inulin and rhubarb potentiates beneficial effects of separated rhubarb and inulin on HFHS-related metabolic disease and could be considered as nutritional strategy for the prevention and treatment of obesity and obesity-related pathologies.