Tea polyphenols improve lipid deposition via modulation of gut microbiota in rats and Ningxiang pigs

[Display omitted] •TP can ameliorate lipid deposition in HFD-induced rats by modulating oxidative.•stress levels, intestinal barrier, and gut microbiota.•TP can also improve body fat deposition by modulating the diversity and relative.•abundance of gut microbiota in Ningxiang pigs (a large animal model).•Akkermansia muciniphila may be the signature microorganism for the fat-lowering. effects of TP in both rats and Ningxiang pigs.•TP may be used as a prebiotic agent to improve lipid deposition and gut microbiota in humans and Ningxiang pigs. Lipid deposition has emerged as a looming challenge worldwide. Previous studies have confirmed the fat-lowering effect of tea polyphenols (TP) in mice, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether TP has the same effect in larger animals. Herein, we simultaneously investigated the regulatory effects of TP on lipid deposition in rats and Ningxiang pigs. The results showed that TP could effectively reduce fat accumulation in rats on a high-fat diet (HFD). As expected, TP supplementation led to a reduction in backfat thickness, fat rate, and subcutaneous fat cell size in Ningxiang pigs. Additionally, TP attenuated gut microbiota dysbiosis by enhancing microbial diversity and increasing the relative abundance of Bacteroides and Akkermansia in both models. Collectively, our results suggest that TP may reduce fat accumulation in rats and Ningxiang pigs by regulating gut microbiota. Therefore, TP could potentially serve as a functional agent for improving fat deposition in humans and Ningxiang pigs.