Polyphenols from foxtail millet improve non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by regulating intestinal flora

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic hepatic manifestation of metabolic dysfunction for which effective interventions are lacking. The burden of NAFLD is increasing at an alarming rate. NAFLD is frequently associated with morbidities such as dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, etc. The current study explored the potential role of bound polyphenol from foxtail millet (BPIS) in treating NAFLD mice induced by the high-fat diet (HFD). The results exhibited the critical role of BPIS treatment for NAFLD by effectively restoring gut microbiota in C57BL/6 mice that received a high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. At the same time, 16S rRNA analysis demonstrated that BPIS remodeled the overall structure of the gut microbiota from fatty liver diseases towards that of normal counterparts, including ten phylum and twenty genus levels. Further study found that the expression of tight junction proteins was up-regulated in the BPIS-treated group. This study provides new insights into the potential NAFLD protective effects induced by polyphenols of foxtail millet.