Eurotium cristatum, a new fungi probiotic from Fuzhuan brick tea, alleviated obesity in mice by modulating gut microbiota

Abstract

Obesity is one of the major public health problems worldwide, mainly resulting from unhealthy lifestyles and diet. Gut microbiota dysbiosis may also lead to obese humans and animals. Modulating gut bacteria through fecal transplantation, the use of probiotics or certain dietary supplements, could normalize gut microbiota and subsequently alleviate obesity. Daily consumption of Fuzhuan brick tea (FBT) or its extracts have been observed to alleviate obesity in humans and experimental animals. In this study, high-fat diet-induced dysbiosis of gut microbiota in C57BL/6J mice was partially reversed by consumption of Eumtium cristatum, the dominant fungi during the manufacturing and storage of FBT. E. cristatum was able to modulate both gut fungi and bacteria composition, based on the analysis of microbiota composition of mice fecal samples. E. cristatum increased acetate and butyrate-producing bacteria in mice gut, and produced five times more butyrate than both obese and normal mice. Our results suggested that E. cristatum may be used as a fungi probiotic to beneficially modulate gut microbiota and to alleviate obesity in humans.