Soybean soluble polysaccharides enhance bioavailability of genistein and its prevention against obesity and metabolic syndrome of mice with chronic high fat consumption

This study aimed to explore a novel strategy for the simultaneous consumption of soluble soybean polysaccharides (SSPS) and insoluble genistein to improve the bioavailability of genistein and its prevention against obesity and metabolic syndrome in high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. C57BL/6J Mice were fed a normal diet and HFD supplemented or not (n=8) with SSPS (2.5%), genistein (0.5%) and their mixture (S+G) for 12 weeks, respectively. UPLC-qTOP/MS assay showed that SSPS observably enhanced the urinary concentration of genistein and its metabolites as compared to that of single genistein in mice. Supplementation of SSPS, genistein or a combination prevented the HFD-induced gain weight, dyslipidemia, oxidative stress and inflammation in obese mice. Interestingly, the combined S+G ingestion exhibited more effective alleviation on dyslipidemia via modulating hepatic FAS, ACC, SREBP-1C and ADRP expressions, relative to individual SSPS or genistein. Furthermore, S+G activated the energy metabolism pathway AMPK in the liver, and hepatic PPAR-α/PPAR-γ pathways were doubly activated to alleviate lipogenesis, inflammation, obesity and metabolic syndrome. Moreover, S+G supplementation dramatically modified the gut microbial species at the family level with the decrease in the Firmicutes and an increase in the Bacteroidetes. These findings support that the combined supplementation of SSPS and genistein is a novel couple to prevent obesity and metabolic syndrome.