Abstract: The objective of this work was to ascertain the effect of dietary supplementation of tartary buckwheat on the physiological metabolism and intestinal flora of dyslipidemic mice. For this purpose, a mouse model of dyslipidemia was created by feeding mice a high-fat diet (HFD). Changes in serum lipid metabolism-related indicators and the intestinal flora were determined respectively by high performance liquid chromatography and the plate count method and were correlated with each other. The results showed that HFD induced lipid metabolic disturbance and that both protein and starch from tartary buckwheat significantly reduced serum lipid levels in dyslipidemic mice to almost normal values (P < 0.05). The number of beneficial intestinal bacteria (Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Enterococcus) in the tartary buckwheat starch and protein intervention groups was significantly higher than in the HFD group (P < 0.05), and the number of harmful bacteria (Escherichia coli) was significantly lower (P < 0.05). Furthermore, correlation analysis indicated that both tartary buckwheat starch and protein could adsorb bile acid and cholesterol and consequently promote their excretion, thereby regulating serum lipid metabolism and the intestinal microbial flora balance. Meanwhile, the increased proportion of intestinal priobiotic bacteria and the decreased proportion of harmful bacteria promoted lipid metabolism modulation and oxidative stress inhibition. Therefore, tartary buckwheat regulates blood lipid metabolism most likely by promoting bile acid salt excretion, regulating the intestinal flora balance, and improving oxidative stress.

Key words: tartary buckwheat, lipid metabolism, intestinal flora, starch, protein