Mixed
High-molecular-weight polysaccharides (>300 kDa) from Hirsutella sinensis mycelium reduce diet-induced obesity and metabolic disorders in mice by selectively enriching the gut bacterium Parabacteroides goldsteinii.
This research suggests that consuming high-molecular-weight polysaccharides from Hirsutella sinensis (a medicinal fungus) may help manage weight and metabolic health by feeding beneficial gut bacteria, specifically Parabacteroides goldsteinii. In mice, this led to a 50% reduction in weight gain on a high-fat diet. While promising, this is an animal study. For humans, this implies that prebiotic fibers that support specific gut bacteria might be beneficial for metabolic health, but direct supplementation with this specific fungal fraction is not yet a standard human treatment.
Fraction H1 containing high-molecular weight polysaccharides (>300 kDa) considerably reduced body weight gain (∼50% reduction) and metabolic disorders in HFD-fed mice... gut microbiota analysis revealed that H1 polysaccharides selectively promoted the growth of Parabacteroides goldsteinii
Why this rating
High-quality animal study with mechanistic depth (FMT, antibiotic depletion, specific bacterial quantification), but limited to murine models.
Source
Gut commensal <i>Parabacteroides goldsteinii</i> plays a predominant role in the anti-obesity effects of polysaccharides isolated from <i>Hirsutella sinensis</i>
Tsung-Ru Wu et al. · Gut · 2018
DOI 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-315458
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