Obesogenic Diets Composition Differentially Alters the Clostridium/Bacteroides Ratio and Drives Colonic Inflammation

Diets high in fat and carbohydrates, like fructose, trigger colon inflammation, increase intestinal permeability, and drive dysbiosis. However, the effects of obesogenic diets on gut microbiota, including Clostridium and Bacteroides, remain unknown. Understanding how these diets damage the colon is critical.

Using a controlled preclinical obesity model, we compared the effects over time of High-Fat Diet (HFD), High-Fructose Diet (HFrD), and their combination (HFHFrD). Diet-induced dysbiosis was assessed at 4 and 8 weeks via qPCR using primers specific to bacterial phyla and species. In addition, intestinal inflammation, atrophy, and mucin production were evaluated by digital pathology after 8 weeks of diet exposure.

both HFrD and HFHFrD mice exhibited marked intestinal inflammation, atrophy, and damage, alongside altered production of neutral and mixed mucins. HFD-fed mice displayed a 15-fold surge in Clostridium/Bacteroides ratio at 4 weeks. At 8 weeks, HFrD-fed mice showed a striking 10-fold rise in microbial relative abundance compared to the other diets. Both HFrD and HFHFrD triggered an early increase in Bacteroides species, but significance emerged only at 8 weeks.

Although all obesogenic diets induced inflammation, atrophy, epithelial damage, and altered mucin patterns, HFrD and HFHFrD caused pronounced disruptions to barrier function and dysbiosis. Critically, HFD consistently raised the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio at 4 and 8 weeks, while the Clostridium/Bacteroides ratio spiked only at 4 weeks. Obesogenic diets fundamentally shifted microbial load and diversity. Therefore, bacterial ratios, such as Clostridium/Bacteroides, may signal dysbiosis and tissue damage from obesogenic diets, but further research is required for confirmation.