¹Biology Department Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Andalas University, Padang 25163 Indonesia
²Department of Biology Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Sumatra Utara, Medan 20155 Indonesia DOI : 10.29228/jrp.2022.00 Mentawai taro (Colocasia esculenta var. Mentawai, Araceae) corm is a staple food for local people in Mentawai islands, West Sumatra, Indonesia. This study aimed to determine whether the incorporation of fiber and starch extracted from Mentawai taro corm could improve adiposity and plasma lipid profiles and intestinal microbiota composition in mice fed a fatty diet. Adult male mice (n = 24) were assigned to four groups of diet treatments: normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD), and HFD supplemented with 20% of fiber or starch from Mentawai taro corm, respectively. After 12-week treatment, body weight, adipose tissues, plasma lipid profiles and intestinal microbiota composition were investigated. The results showed that the incorporation of fiber and starch of Mentawai taro corm was capable of substantially preventing the excessive body weight increase against HFD. Moreover, fiber and starch could significantly suppress the increase of white adipose tissue mass and adipocyte hypertrophy while preventing the reduction of brown adipose tissue mass and adipocyte hypertrophy. The fiber and starch also could effectively reduce total plasma cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. The result also indicated that the fiber and starch of Mentawai taro corm could modulate the diversity of intestinal microbiota by promoting the healthbeneficial taxa while suppressing the pathogenic taxa. Overall, the fiber effectivity in managing the detrimental effects of fatty diet outperformed the starch of Mentawai taro corm. Hence, it could be recommended as a potent supplement to combat diet-induced metabolic problems, particularly obesity, dyslipidemia, and gut dysbiosis. Keywords : adipose tissue; Colocasia esculenta; gut dysbiosis; high-fat diet; plasma lipids; staple food