Free fatty acids

CF was picked in Foping County, Shaanxi Province in October 2018. The appearance and growing environment of CF used in this study is shown in Figure 1. A blood glucose meter was purchased from Houmei De Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Taiwan, China). The mouse total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), BCA, free fatty acids (FFA), malondialdehyde (MDA), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) kits were purchased from Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute (Nanjing, China). The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits for mouse C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and insulin were from Shanghai Elisa Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). The antibodies against phospho-GSK3β (ab131097), GSK3β (ab131356), p65 (ab16502), PEPCK (ab181170), iNOS (1b178945), COX-2 (ab179800), phospho-TAK1 (ab192443), TAK1 (ab111096), phospho-AKT (ab38449), AKT (ab8805), phospho-IKKβ (ab59195), phospho-JNK (ab124956), and JNK (ab179461) were obtained from Abcam (Cambridge, UK). The secondary antibodies for Western blotting analysis were from ZSGB-BIO (Beijing, China).

C57BL mice (17 ± 1.5 g) (n = 40) were obtained from the Experimental Animal Center, Fuzhou Medical College, Nanchang University, Fuzhou, Jiangxi, China. The animals were maintained at a controlled temperature (22°C ± 1°C), humidity (50%), and light (12/12-h light/dark). All animal experiments were approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Fuzhou Medical College, Nanchang University. Inulin was obtained from MCE (HY-N7075) and dissolved in drinking water (10% w/w). The blood glucose testing equipment was offered by Sinocare. The TG, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein, cholesterol, free fatty acids, interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor testing kits were obtained from Nanjing Jiancheng Company. The insulin ELISA kit was purchased from Abcam. The HFD consisted of 20% carbohydrates, 35% proteins, and 45% fats (D12492; Research Diets; 60% of total calories).