Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Affects Lipid Metabolism via Changing Gut Microflora and Enhancing Propionate Production in Weaned Pigs

BACKGROUND: It is not clear whether dietary grape seed proanthocyanidin (GSP) affects mammalian lipid metabolism via the gut microbiota. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of the gut microbiota to the effect of dietary GSP. METHODS: This study was divided into 3 separate experiments using Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire pigs (50% male) weaned at day 28 and then fed the same basal diet (NC). In Experiment 1, 90 pigs were fed NC or NC with 250 mg GSP/kg (GSP) or 400 mg betaine/kg [positive control (PC)] for 28 d. In Experiment 2, 30 pigs were fed NC, GSP, or GSP with antibiotics (GSP + Abx) diets for 14 d. In Experiment 3, pigs were fed NC, NC plus 1 g sodium propionate/kg (SP), or NC plus 1 g sodium butyrate/kg (SB) diet for 14 d. Serum biochemical indexes, SCFA concentrations, and microbial composition were determined. RESULTS: In Experiment 1, compared with the GSP group, visceral adipocyte area was higher in the NC (28.6%) and PC (18.2%) groups (P ≤ 0.05). Colonic propionate and butyrate concentrations were 30.2% and 3.6% higher in the GSP group than in the NC group, respectively (P ≤ 0.05). In Experiment 2, compared with the GSP group, the NC group had a 108% higher Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio and had 50.4%, 61.2%, and 82.3% lower abundance of Akkermansia, Alistipes, and Bacteroides, respectively (P ≤ 0.05); antibiotics removed these effects of GSP. In Experiment 3, serum peptide YY was 19.5% higher in the SP group than in the NC group (P ≤ 0.05), and it did not differ between the SB and NC groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: GSP affected lipid metabolism in weaned pigs, which is associated with changed gut microbiota and enhanced microbial propionate production. These findings provide potential mechanisms for GSP intake to improve lipid metabolism.