Vinegar polyphenol extracts and fat, inflammation and gut bacteria in rats
What it found
In rats fed a high-fat diet, polyphenol extracts from Shanxi-aged vinegar improved blood fats, lowered inflammation and oxidative stress markers, and shifted gut bacteria.
The authors suggest these extracts may help treat metabolic problems.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Blood fats and stress markers
Rats given the vinegar extract showed better blood fat levels than rats on the high-fat diet alone. Markers of inflammation and oxidative stress also improved in the treated rats.
Gut bacteria shifts
The vinegar extract lowered the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes bacteria in rats compared to untreated rats. It also raised the relative amount of beneficial bacteria in the rat gut.
Bacteria linked to inflammation
In the rats, three types of gut bacteria were negatively correlated with all measured inflammation markers. Another type, Ruminococcus, was positively correlated with those markers.
Other findings
Identified vinegar compounds
The researchers found 41 polyphenols in the vinegar extract. These included 18 phenolic acids and 17 polyphenols not previously reported.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that the vinegar polyphenol extract can ease oxidative and inflammatory stress caused by a high-fat diet in rats.
- They suggest it improves gut bacterial balance.
- The authors propose this extract may be a new approach for treating metabolic syndromes.
How it was done
Long-term high-fat diets can cause oxidative stress, inflammation and changes to gut bacteria. The researchers wanted to see if polyphenols from vinegar could improve these problems.
They extracted polyphenols from Shanxi-aged vinegar and identified the compounds using gas chromatography. They then gave the extract to rats on a high-fat diet that had developed high blood fats, comparing them to rats on the same diet without the extract.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These results come from rats, so they cannot show what happens in people eating vinegar.
- The study tested concentrated polyphenol extracts rather than ordinary vinegar from a bottle.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Tianjin University of Science & Technology, China; South China University of Technology, China
The paper
- Title
- GC × GC-MS analysis and hypolipidemic effects of polyphenol extracts from Shanxi-aged vinegar in rats under a high fat diet
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Du P, Zhou J, Zhang L, et al (2020). GC × GC-MS analysis and hypolipidemic effects of polyphenol extracts from Shanxi-aged vinegar in rats under a high fat diet. Food & function. doi:10.1039/d0fo01266aPubMed 32808637DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error