Novel Chlorella pyrenoidosa peptides attenuate weight gain, insulin resistance, and lipid levels in mice fed a high-fat diet

Obesity can cause a wide range of metabolic diseases, but safe and effective treatments are still lacking. Chlorella pyrenoidosa (C. pyrenoidosa) peptides have a variety of biological activities, but their lipid-lowering effects in vivo are rarely reported. In this study, one (SISISVAGGGR, T1) of the six C. pyrenoidosa peptides with the best lipidlowering and gut microbial stability maintenance was screened. Then, the anti-obesity effects of different doses of T1 (300 mg/Kg/d, 100 mg/Kg/d) were evaluated in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The results showed that T1 supplementation alleviated HFD-induced weight gain and lipid accumulation, reduced fasting blood glucose and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and elevated high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. T1 improved insulin resistance and attenuated hepatic lipid accumulation and meta-inflammation in both liver and adipose tissues in obese mice. This study demonstrated a novel C. pyrenoidosa peptide as a potential prebiotic with beneficial effects on obesity and related metabolic disorders.