2025 Oral polyphenol-based microbeads with synergisticdemulsification and fat locking for obesity treatment
Authors:
Yue Wu, Qin Ma, Qinling Liu, ..., Lie Yang,Gustav Nyström, Junling Guo
Journal:
Cell Biomaterials1, 100019. doi.org/10.1016/j.celbio.2025.100019
Institute:
BMI Center for Biomass Materials and Nanointerfaces, National Engineering Laboratory for Clean Technology of Leather Manufacture,Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Leather Chemistry and Engineering, College of Biomass Science and Engineering, SichuanUniversity, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Department of General Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan,China
Tea Refining and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130,Sichuan, China
Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital Army Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China
Institute of Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, Sichuan, China
Division of 64K Cellssense, Vitagenix Asia Research & Innovation, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
Department of Health Science & Technology, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Laboratory for Cellulose & Wood Materials, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), Überlandstrasse 129,8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Bioproducts Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4,Canada
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
Abstract:
Excessive fat intakeisstrongly linked tothe growing prevalence ofobesity and associated metabolicdisorders.Orlistat is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for limiting the absorption of fat; however, theunabsorbed fat in the colon can cause severe side effects. Here, we report a polyphenol-mediated fat-locking(PmFL) microbead made of green tea polyphenol, dietary fiber (alginate), and D-a-tocopherol that efficiently captures and excludes abroad spectrum of dietary fat derivatives in the gut. Mechanistically,PmFLmicrobeads actively capture emulsified fat droplets through gastrointestinal pH-responsive expansion and facilitate multiple molecular interaction-driven demulsification and fat locking. The high-fat dieted rats orally administered PmFLmicrobeadsshowed17.02%weightloss,accompaniedbyreducedadiposetissue,alleviatedliverdamage,andlower blood fat levels. Notably, the rats exhibited direct excretion of fat-containing feces without side effects orblood glucose fluctuations. Our work provides a basis for novel dietary strategies to combat obesity.