Ganoderma lucidum reduces obesity in mice by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota

Authors

Chih-Jung Chang, Chang Gung University
Chuan-Sheng Lin, Chang Gung University
Chia-Chen Lu, Fu Jen Catholic University
Jan Martel, Chang Gung University
Yun-Fei Ko, Chang Gung Biotechnology Corporation
David M. Ojcius, University of the PacificFollow
Shun-Fu Tseng, Chang Gung University
Tsung-Ru Wu, Chang Gung University
Yi-Yuan Margaret Chen, Chang Gung University
John Ding-E. Young, Chang Gung UniversityFollow
Hsin-Chih Lai, Chang Gung University

ORCiD

David M. Ojcius: 0000-0003-1461-4495

Department

Biomedical Sciences

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Nature Communications

ISSN

2041-1723

Volume

6

DOI

10.1038/ncomms8489

First Page

1

Last Page

17

Publication Date

6-23-2015

Abstract

Obesity is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and intestinal dysbiosis. Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine with putative anti-diabetic effects. Here, we show that a water extract of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium (WEGL) reduces body weight, inflammation and insulin resistance in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Our data indicate that WEGL not only reverses HFD-induced gut dysbiosis—as indicated by the decreased Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratios and endotoxin-bearing Proteobacteria levels—but also maintains intestinal barrier integrity and reduces metabolic endotoxemia. The anti-obesity and microbiota-modulating effects are transmissible via horizontal faeces transfer from WEGL-treated mice to HFD-fed mice. We further show that high molecular weight polysaccharides (>300 kDa) isolated from the WEGL extract produce similar anti-obesity and microbiota-modulating effects. Our results indicate that G. lucidum and its high molecular weight polysaccharides may be used as prebiotic agents to prevent gut dysbiosis and obesity-related metabolic disorders in obese individuals.

Comments

Article number: 7489

Recommended Citation

Chang, C., Lin, C., Lu, C., Martel, J., Ko, Y., Ojcius, D. M., Tseng, S., Wu, T., Chen, Y. M., Young, J. D., & Lai, H. (2015). Ganoderma lucidum reduces obesity in mice by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota. Nature Communications, 6, 1–17. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8489
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/dugoni-facarticles/26