Hormonal
Administration of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) attenuates high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice by increasing hepatic levels of non-12-hydroxylated bile acids (non-12-OH BAs), which enhances GLP-1 secretion and upregulates UCP1 and PGC1a in brown adipose tissue.
This research suggests that ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) may help prevent obesity in the context of a high-fat diet by boosting beneficial bile acids (non-12-OH BAs). These bile acids signal the body to burn more energy (via UCP1 in fat tissue) and release satiety hormones (GLP-1). While this is a promising therapeutic avenue, it is currently based on animal models. For humans, maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise remains the primary strategy, but this mechanism highlights why bile acid health is important for metabolic function.
In addition, we identified that UDCA attenuated the high fat diet-induced obesity via enhancing levels of non-12-OH BAs.
Why this rating
The study uses a robust animal model (HF-OP/HF-OR mice) with multiple validation methods (metabolomics, transcriptomics, histology), but results are not directly translatable to humans without further clinical trials.
Source
A dysregulated bile acid-gut microbiota axis contributes to obesity susceptibility
Meilin Wei et al. · EBioMedicine · 2020
DOI 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102766
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