Anti‐obesity effects exerted by Dioscorea opposita Thunb. polysaccharides in diet‐induced obese mice

Abstract Obesity is characterized by chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Dioscorea opposita Thunb. is a traditional food and medicine homolog from China. In the present study, polysaccharides isolated from a water extract of Dioscorea opposita Thunb. (DOTPs) were prepared. We showed that DOTPs reduced body weight, accumulation of fat tissues, insulin resistance, and inflammation in high‐fat diet (HFD)‐fed mice. Further experiments showed that DOTPs could regulate the composition of the gut microbiota in HFD mice. DOTPs supplementation in HFD‐fed mice resulted in the reduction of the Firmicutes‐to‐Bacteroidetes ratio. We further demonstrated that DOTPs supplementation enhanced bacterial levels of Akkermansia and reduced levels of Ruminiclostridium_9. A significant reduction of glycolysis metabolism related to obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis was also observed upon administration of DOTPs. Our results suggest that DOTPs can produce significant anti‐obesity effects, by inhibiting systematic inflammation and ameliorating gut microbiota dysbiosis in diet‐induced obese mice.