Mango Supplementation Modulates Gut Microbial Dysbiosis and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production Independent of Body Weight Reduction in C57BL/6Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet

Background: High-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity is associated with changes in the gut microbiota. Fiber and other bioactive compounds in plant-based foods are suggested to prevent gut dysbiosis brought on by HF feeding. Mango is high in fiber and has been reported to have anti-obesogenic, hypoglycemic, and immunomodulatory properties. Objectives: We investigated the effects of freeze-dried mango pulp combined with an HF diet on the cecal microbial population and its relation to body composition, lipids, glucose parameters, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, and gut inflammatory markers in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Methods: Six-wk-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatment groups: control (AIN-93M, 10% fat kcal), HF (60% fat kcal), and HF + 1% or 10% mango (HF + 1% M or HF + 10% M, wt: wt) for 12 wk. The cecal microbial population was assessed by use of 16S rDNA sequencing. Body composition, plasma glucose and lipids, cecal and fecal SCFAs, and mRNA abundance of inflammatory markers in the ileum and colonic lamina propria were assessed. Results: Compared with the control group, HF feeding significantly reduced (P < 0.05) 1 operational taxonomic unit (OTU) of the genus Bifidobacteria (64-fold) and 5 OTUs of the genus Akkermansia (>= 16-fold). This reduction was prevented in the HF + 10% M group, members of which had 10% higher final body weight compared with the HF group (P = 0.01) and similar fasting blood glucose concentrations (P = 0.24). The HF + 10% M group had 135% (P = 0.004) and 133% (P < 0.0001) greater fecal acetic and n-butyric acids concentrations than the HF group, suggesting greater microbial fermentation. Furthermore, a 59% greater colonic interleukin 10 (Il10) gene expression was observed in the HF + 10% M group than in the HF group (P = 0.048), indicating modulation of gut inflammation. The HF + 1% M group generally did not differ from the HF group. Conclusions: The addition of mango to an HF diet modulated the gut microbiota and production of SCFAs in C57BL/6 mice; these changes may improve gut tolerance to the insult of an HF diet.