Orlistat and ezetimibe could differently alleviate the high-fat diet-induced obesity phenotype by modulating the gut microbiota

This study aimed to evaluate the possible anti-obesity effects of orlistat and ezetimibe and determine the mechanism by which they alter the composition of gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in mice with a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Eighty male, specific pathogen-free C57BL/6J mice aged 3 weeks were divided into four groups (n = 20). The NCD group was fed with a normal diet, and the HFD, HFD+ORL, and HFD+EZE groups were fed with HFD for 20 weeks. From the 13th week onward, the HFD+ORL and HFD+EZE groups were administered with orlistat and ezetimibe, respectively. The glucose and lipid metabolism of the tested mice were evaluated by analyzing blood biochemical indicators during the intervention. Furthermore, the changes in the structure of the fecal microbiota and the fecal SCFA content were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. HFD induced the obesity phenotype in mice. Compared to the HFD group, the body weight, visceral fat-to-body weight ratio, serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) of the HFD+ORL group significantly decreased, whereas fecal butyric acid levels significantly increased. Ezetimibe intervention significantly reduced the OGTT, serum TC, and HDL-C levels only. The α-diversity of the gut microbiota significantly decreased after intervention with orlistat and ezetimibe. Orlistat altered the relative abundance of some bacteria in the fecal microbiota. The populations of Firmicutes, Alistipes, and Desulfovibrio decreased, whereas those of Verrucomicrobia and Akkermansia significantly increased. Ezetimibe caused changes only in some low-abundance bacteria, as manifested by a decrease in Proteobacteria and Desulfovibrio, and an increase in Bacteroides. The administration of orlistat and ezetimibe can characteristically influence the body weight and serum lipid metabolism, and glucolipid levels in diet-induced obese mice and is accompanied by significant changes in the gut microbiota and SCFAs. These results suggest that the two drugs might exert their own specific anti-obesity effects by modulating the gut microbiota in a different manner. The enhanced health-promoting effect of orlistat might result from its stronger ability to alter the gut microbiota and SCFAs, at least partly.