Effects of Auricularia auricula and its polysaccharide on diet-induced hyperlipidemia rats by modulating gut microbiota

It is well known that Auricularia auricula (A. auricula) and Auricularia auricula polysaccharide (AAP) have antihyperlipidemia effects, but their mechanism and the relationship with the gut microbiota structure of the subjects were barely reported. In this study we found that A. auricula intervention could reduce the levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of hyperlipidemia rats by 44.03% and 66.21%, while AAP intervention by 31.38% and 41.38%, respectively. High-throughput sequencing analysis further indicated that A. auricula and AAP interventions could modulate gut microbiota structure. While, the difference was that A. auricula upregulated the high-abundance SCFA-producing genus Bacteroides and Paraprevotella related to dietary fiber-rich diet, while AAP could better enrich several lower-abundance SCFA-producing bacteria such as Flavonifractor and Clostridium IV. The results implied that the different anti-hyperlipidemia effects of A. auricula and AAP interventions might have a potential link with the diverging modulation of gut microbiota structure.