Lard and vegetable oil diets change gut bacteria in mice
What it found
In mice, six weeks on a lard diet or a vegetable blend oil diet changed the gut bacteria in different ways.
The authors say lard had a bigger impact on the animals' health.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Gut bacteria changed
The gut bacteria of the mice changed significantly after they were given lard or vegetable blend oil.
Lard and a bacterium
Lard may work together with Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002, a type of gut bacterium.
Vegetable oil and bacteria
Vegetable blend oil had working-together effects with Akkermansia, Roseburia and Enteractinococcus.
Bacteria and sugar use
Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002 was strongly linked in the opposite direction to glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, ways the body handles sugar. Roseburia was most strongly linked to starch and sucrose metabolism.
Long-term effects
Based on predicted bacterial function and links between bacteria and metabolism, long-term eating of lard or vegetable oil may affect how the body handles fats and sugars. The authors say lard has a greater impact on human health and so on the health of the host.
What the authors conclude
“long-term consumption of lard or vegetable oil may affect glycolipid metabolism, but lard has a greater impact on human health and consequently host health.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that long-term consumption of lard or vegetable oil may affect glycolipid metabolism.
- They state that lard has a greater impact on human health and consequently host health.
How it was done
Diet is the most direct and rapid contributor to the gut microbiome, and oils and fats are important nutrients in the human body.
Kunming mice were given lard or vegetable blend oil for six weeks. The researchers analysed changes in the makeup and amounts of gut bacteria using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This was a study in mice, so it cannot show what happens in people.
- It cannot show whether the same bacterial changes would occur in people eating lard or vegetable oil.
The paper
- Title
- Comparative Analysis of the Gut Microbiota in Mice under Lard or Vegetable Blend Oil Diet
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Qiao B, Li X, Wu Y, Guo T, Tan Z (2022). Comparative Analysis of the Gut Microbiota in Mice under Lard or Vegetable Blend Oil Diet. Journal of oleo science. doi:10.5650/jos.ess22056PubMed 36198580DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error