Effects of α-Galactooligosaccharides from Chickpeas on High-Fat-Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Mice

The gut microbiota has the ability to modulate host energy homeostasis, which may regulate metabolic disorders. Functional oligosaccharide may positively regulate the intestinal microbiota. Therefore, effects of alpha-galactooligosaccharides (alpha-GOS) from chickpea on high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced metabolic syndrome and gut bacterial dysbiosis were investigated. After 6 weeks of intervention, HFD led to significant increases in levels of blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, glycated serum protein, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of mice compared to normal-chow-fed mice. Meanwhile, all of the alpha-GOS-treated groups significantly decreased above parameters compared to the HFD group. HFD could significantly decrease the content of all bacteria, especially Bacteroides (9.82 +/- 0.09 versus 10.3 +/- 0.10; p < 0.05) and Lactobacillus (6.67 +/- 0.18 versus 7.30 +/- 0.24; p < 0.05), and a decrease in the production of short-chain fatty acids was also observed: Treatment with a-GOS significantly increased the number of Bifidobacterium (6.07 +/- 0.23 of the low-dose treatment versus 5.65 +/- 0.20 of the HFD group) and Lactobacillus (7.22 +/- 0.16 of the low-dose treatment). It also significantly promoted the secretion of propionic and butyric acids. These results indicate that a-GOS from chickpeas may affect the metabolic disorders and gut bacterial ecosystem in a positive way.