The synergistic effects of lotus seed
resistant starch (LRS3) and
sodium lactate (SL; a postbiotics of RS3) on hypolipidemic function and serum nontargeted metabolites of
hyperlipidemia rats were investegated. Rats fed a high-fat diet were orally administered with LRS3 (HLRS group) or SL (HSL group) either alone or in combination (HLRSSL group) for consecutive 4 weeks. HLRSSL was found to control
weight gain, regulate blood
lipid levels, reduce accumulation of fat in liver cells, and improve lesions in rat cardiac arteries, liver, small intestine, and colon tissues more effectively compared to HLRS or HSL group alone. Compared to the high-fat control group (HMC),
l-phenylalanine and LysoPC(22:6(4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)) in serum were upregulated in HLRSSL rats, while
aconitic acid and
suberic acid were decreased. Correlation analysis showed that SM(d18:0/16:1(9Z)),
taurochenodeoxycholic acid, LysoPC(22:6(4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)),
oleic acid, and
retinol were negatively correlated with total
cholesterol (TCHO),
triglyceride (TG), and
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (
LDL-C) and positively correlated with
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Moreover,
glutamic acid and
serine showed a significant positive correlation with
LDL-C and negative correlation with HDL-C. These differential metabolites were associated with reducing serum
lipid levels in
hyperlipidemia rats potentially through metabolic pathways such as
linoleic acid,
glutamine and
glutamate,
pyruvate, citric acid cycle, and
glycerophospholipid.