Editor's Note
Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), a species of palm native to tropical Central and South America, has long been an important food source for indigenous peoples of the Amazon region, cultivated for both its fruit and edible hearts of palm. The acai fruit is rich in anthocyanins and has become increasingly popular in dietary supplements. This study investigated anti-obesity activity and gut microbiota-modulating effects of the anthocyanin-rich extract of açai fruit (AEA). Thirty-six male SPF C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups and fed with low-fat diet, high-fat diet, or high-fat diet supplemented with AEA for 14 weeks. The anti-obesity effect of AEA was evaluated, and the microbial changes were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the correlations between gut microbiota and obesity-related indicators. Results showed that AEA treatment alleviated HFD-induced obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance. Moreover, AEA supplement changed the structure of the gut microbiota, and significantly enriched Akkermansia muciniphila, which was negatively correlated with the physical biomarkers (e.g. serum glucose, insulin and triglycerides) and genes involved in lipid metabolism.
Abstract

Objective
Açai is a rich source of anthocyanins and has been used as dietary supplement and active pharmaceutical ingredient. Growing evidence indicates that host-microbial interactions played a vital role in the host metabolism. This study aimed to investigate the anthocyanin-rich extract of açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) fruit (AEA) regarding its anti-obesity activity and gut microbiota-modulating effect.

Research Methods & Procedures
Thirty-six male SPF C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups and fed with low-fat diet (LFD), high-fat diet (HFD) or high-fat diet supplemented with AEA for 14 weeks. The anti-obesity effect of AEA was evaluated, and the microbial changes were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the correlations between gut microbiota and obesity-related indicators.

Results
Our results showed that AEA treatment alleviated HFD-induced obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance. Moreover, AEA supplement changed the structure of the gut microbiota, and significantly enriched Akkermansia muciniphila, which was negatively correlated with the physical biomarkers (e.g. serum glucose, insulin and triglycerides) and genes involved in lipid metabolism.

Conclusion
AEA alleviated HFD-induced obesity, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. The microbial changes may be one of the potential mechanisms for AEA in improving obesity and obesity-related disorders.

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