Anti-Obesity Effects of Pea Peptides Modified by Steam Explosion on Obese Mice: Regulation of Gut Microbiota and Glucose Metabolism

Pea peptides (PPs), as organic compounds, exhibit a variety of biological functions that make them useful for both the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders. This study focused on how PPs modified by steam explosion (SE-PP) may help to treat mice with high-fat diet (HFD)-mediated glucose metabolism disorders. The experimental results indicate that both the 100 mg/kg BW SE-PP (SE-PPL group) and 400 mg/kg BW SE-PP (SE-PPH group) experienced substantial decreases in body weight, epididymal and inguinal fat mass, and blood glucose levels of obese mice (notably, the body weight of the SE-PPH group was decreased by 33.13% when compared with that of the HFD group (<i>p</i> < 0.05)). By stimulating the IRS-1/PI3K/AKT signaling system, SE-PP controlled glucose metabolism disorder in adipose tissue, while also inhibiting the TLR4/MYD88/NF-κB pathway to reduce inflammation. Furthermore, SE-PP restored the diversity of the gut microbiota destroyed by HFD. SE-PPH increased the <i>Bacteroidetes</i>/<i>Firmicutes</i> ratio from 0.042 to 0.26 (<i>p</i> < 0.05), which is a key indicator of microbiota balance. In addition, SE-PP enhanced the synthesis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as isovalerate, propionate, and acetate, which are essential for maintaining intestinal homeostasis and improving metabolic health (supplementation of SE-PPH increased the levels of total SCFAs by 49.87% in obese mice (<i>p</i> < 0.05)).