Effect of Artemisia selengensis Turcz extract on lipid metabolism and gut microbiota in high-fat diet-induced C57BL/6J obese mice

Nowadays, obesity is a global health risk factor, and its development is closely related to the absorption and metabolism of lipids. In this study, the main chemical constituents and antiobesity effect of Artemisia selengensis Turcz extract (ASTE) were investigated by HPLC-QTOF-MS 2 and obese mice models. Twenty-three compounds were identified from ASTE, and caffeoylquinic acid and dicaffeoylquinic acid are the dominant bioactive compounds. ASTE administration reduced body weight (9.8%), improved glucose tolerance (14.2%), corrected dyslipidemia (the levels of total cholesterol, total triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol dropped by 19.8%, 24.4%, and 27.2%, respectively, and the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level rose by 27.6%), and alleviated hepatic lipid accumulation. ASTE improved the gut microbiota dysbiosis caused by High-Fat Diet (HFD), mainly by increasing the relative abundance of Odoribacter , Candidatus_Saccharimonas , Bacteroides , and unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae , and reducing the relative abundance of Faecalibaculum . Gene expression heatmaps and pathway enrichment analyses based on transcriptomics indicated that ASTE significantly reduced HFD-induced increases in fatty acid uptake, triglyceride synthesis, and cholesterol synthesis. Our findings indicated that ASTE holds significant potential as a candidate for modulating lipid metabolism and preventing or treating obesity, meriting further investigation.