Modulatory Effects of Co-Fermented Pu-erh Tea with Aqueous Corn Silk Extract on Gut Microbes and Fecal Metabolites in Mice Fed High-Fat Diet

Pu-erh tea is recognized for its weight loss effects, but its potential association with gut microbiota and metabolites remains unclear. This research explored the alterations in gut flora and metabolite composition upon treatment with a co-fermented Pu-erh tea with an aqueous corn silk extract (CPC) in obese mice by employing integrated 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and untargeted metabolomics processes. For 8 weeks, mice were fed control, high-fat, and high-fat diets which included a 46 mg/mL CPC extract. The CPC extract the alleviated high-fat diet (HFD), it stimulated systemic chronic inflammation, and it reduced the body weight, daily energy consumption, and adipose tissue weight of the mice. It also modified the gut microbiota composition and modulated the Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Allobaculum, Turicibacter, and Rikenella genera. Fecal metabolomics analysis revealed that the CPC extract influenced the caffeine, cysteine, methionine, tryptophan, biotin metabolism pathways, primary bile acid, and steroid biosynthesis. This research revealed that the CPC extract could inhibit HFD-stimulated abnormal weight gain and adipose tissue accumulation in mice, and modulate mice gut microbiota composition and multiple metabolic pathways.