Heewon Moon ^1* Kangwook Lee ² Jung-Heun Ha ¹ Na Y. Kim ^2* Hyo R. Shin ^2* Tae Jin Cho ² Namsu Oh ² Jinbong Park ³ Jingsi Tang ^4* Jae K. Kim ^2* Misook Kim ^1*

• ¹ Dankook University, Yongin, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea
• ² Korea University, Sejong, Republic of Korea
• ³ Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
• ⁴ Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, Beijing, China

This study explores the impact of 4% Momordica charantia (MC) and 4% fermented Momordica charantia (FMC) on gut microbiota and obesity-related health outcomes in male C57BL/6 mice, a model relevant to veterinary sciences for understanding metabolic and gut health disorders in animals. Mice were assigned to four dietary regimens, including control, high-fat and high-cholesterol diet (POS), POS with 4% MC, and POS with 4% FMC (fermented with Leuconostoc mesenteroides MKSR) over 12 weeks. Fecal samples were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing to evaluate microbial diversity and composition, key factors influencing animal health. Both MC and FMC groups demonstrated significant alterations in gut microbial communities, particularly with FMC leading to a distinct shift in beta diversity indices, which could impact gut barrier functions and inflammatory responses in animals. Changes in key microbial taxa including Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Firmicutes were observed, along with an enhancement in the 'L-glutamate and L-glutamine biosynthesis' pathway, suggesting a functional impact on gut metabolism. These microbial shifts were associated with reduced body weight gain and liver weights, indicating potential benefits for animal health management in preventing diet-induced metabolic disorders and protective effects against diet-induced obesity. Our study highlights the potential of MC and FMC in modulating gut microbiota and mitigating obesity-related health issues.