Intact pulse cotyledon cell diet improves systemic growth via the somatotropic axis in malnourished mice

Malnutrition, often associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, requires effective dietary interventions. This study evaluated the effects of diets containing intact pulse cotyledon cells (MAL-IC diet) or pulse flour (MAL-PF diet) within a malnourished mouse model. The MAL-IC diet significantly improved systemic growth compared with the malnutrition (MAL: low-fat [2%], low-protein [6.4%]) diet group, outperforming the MAL-PF diet. Additionally, the MAL-IC diet restructured the gut microbiota and metabolome, increasing the relative abundance of carbohydrate-utilizing bacteria and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Notably, the MAL-IC diet stimulated the somatotropic axis, thereby promoting higher insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) production across multiple tissues. Integration of gene expression data revealed that SCFAs activated hepatic free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) via the gut-liver axis, further stimulating the somatotropic axis to promote growth. These results demonstrate that an intact cell-based diet restores growth through microbiota-SCFA-endocrine interactions and propose a pulse-enriched food strategy to address malnutrition.