Selenium-enriched
peptides from Cardamine violifolia (CSP) have excellent
antioxidant functions but little is known about their effects on
obesity and associated metabolic disorders in mice fed with a high-fat diet (HFD). In this study, C57BL/6 mice were fed a HFD with or without CSP supplementation (CSPL: 26 μg Se per kg bw per d;
CSPH: 104 μg per kg bw per d) for 10 weeks. The results showed that both CSPL and
CSPH could ameliorate
overweight gain, excess fat accumulation, serum lipid metabolism, and
insulin resistance. The potential mechanism might be associated with the increase in thermogenesis, reduced oxidative stress, and
inflammation, which regulated the gene expression in
lipid and
cholesterol metabolism. In addition, CSPL and
CSPH also maintained the intestinal integrity and modulated the gut microbiota. Increased Blautia in CSP may be involved in the protective effect against
obesity. Furthermore, a distinct increase in Lactobacillus was exclusively found in
CSPH, suggesting that a more effective function of
CSPH on metabolic disorders might be through the synergism of Blautia and Lactobacillus. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that these specific genera were significantly correlated with the metabolic improvements. Taken together, CSP supplementation prevented HFD-induced
obesity and metabolic disorders, probably by ameliorating oxidative stress and
inflammation, regulating metabolic genes, and modulating the gut microbiota compositions.