Fat binding capacity and modulation of the gut microbiota both determine the effect of wheat bran fractions on adiposity

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of different wheat bran fractions on the gut microbiota and fat binding capacity to explain their differential effects on metabolic and inflammatory disorders induced by a western diet (WD) in mice. Wheat bran derived arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (AXOS), a crude fraction of wheat bran (WB), or the same wheat bran with reduced particle size (WBs) were added to the WD of mice for 8 weeks. AXOS shifted the gut microbiota composition, blunted Clostridium and Turicibacter genera and strongly promoted Bifidobacterium and Butyricicoccus genera, independently of changes in gut antimicrobial peptide expression. AXOS was the most efficient to reduce adiposity. Only WB fraction promoted fat excretion and differed from the other fractions by the capacity to increase the Akkermansia genus and to counteract gut interleukin 1 beta (IL1β) overexpression. Strikingly, WBs promoted steatosis and adipose tissue inflammation, despite its ability -like WB- to increase bacterial diversity. In conclusion, wheat bran fractions differently affect metabolic and inflammatory disorders associated with WD feeding, depending on their particle size, their fat binding capacity and their influence on the gut microbiota. Those results might be useful to take into account in nutritional advices to control obesity.