Wild Melon Seed Oil Reduces Plasma Cholesterol and Modulates Gut Microbiota in Hypercholesterolemic Hamsters

Abstract

Wild melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i> var. agrestis) seed oil (CO) contains 71.3% polyunsaturated fatty acids. The present study investigated the effects of CO on blood cholesterol and gut microbiota. Hamsters (<i>n</i> = 32) were randomly divided into four groups and given one of four diets, namely noncholesterol diet (NCD), high-cholesterol diet containing 0.1% cholesterol (HCD), HCD containing 4.75% CO (COL), and HCD containing 9.5% CO (COH) for 6 weeks. CO supplementation at 9.5% in the diet reduced plasma cholesterol by 24% and enhanced the excretion of fecal bile acids by 150%. CO supplementation upregulated the gene expression of hepatic cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1). In addition, supplementation of CO in the diet remarkably increased the production of fecal short-chain fatty acids and favorably altered the relative abundances of <i>Eubacteriaceae</i>, <i>Clostridiales_vadinBB</i>60_group, <i>Ruminococcaceae</i>, <i>Streptococcaceae</i>, and <i>Desulfovibrionaceae</i> at a family level. It was concluded that CO could reduce plasma cholesterol via promoting the excretion of fecal acidic sterols and modulating gut microbiota.