After maturation, Korean pine ( Pinus koraien-sis Siebold & Zucc.) seeds often cannot disperse to reach a suitable germination site. It is therefore difficult to naturally regenerate by itself and relies on animal dispersal. Squirrels hoard pine seeds as winter food and Korean pine seeds stored for overwintering might become the source of regeneration of the species. From field observations, the pine seeds are the food preference for squirrels during autumn in the Lesser Khingan Mountains in Northeast China. Such preference by squirrels has been attributed to high seed energy content and the ease of seed storage. However, it may also be expected from nutritional aspects that a coevolutionary relationship between squirrels and Korean pine species could be partially explained by the effect of active seed components and their physiological regulatory effects on squirrels. To test this hypothesis, control experiments were carried out to exam-ine the modulatory effects of Korean pine nut oil (PNO) on intestinal microbiota, inflammatory profile and oxida-tive stress in mice. The results showed that, compared with mice fed a high-fat diet, PNO significantly improved the physical and the healthy state of mice. Histological analy-sis of the liver and epididymal fat tissue showed that PNO alleviated liver and adipocyte lesions, and inflammation caused by high-fat diets. PNO also significantly decreased atherosclerotic index and ameliorate serum lipid accumula-tion to prevent cardiovascular disease, which effect the posi-tive control SG group. Moreover, PNO elevated superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase enzyme activities and reduced malondialdehyde levels in the serum. 16S rRNA sequencing showed that PNO restored intestinal microbiota composition, significantly increasing the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Akkermansia bacteria. These results suggest that Korean pine seeds not only provide adequate fat, protein and energy for squirrels, but also promote physical health and improve body immunity.

School of Forestry,Northeast Forestry University,Harbin 150040,People's Republic of China;College of Wildlife and Protected Area,Northeast Forestry University,Harbin 150040,People's Republic of China;Beidahuang Wondersun Dairy Co.Ltd,Harbin 150040,People's Republic of China;Inner Mongolia Greater,Khingan Range Forestry Science and Technology Research Institute,Yakeshi 022150,People's Republic of China

[1]Gang Wei;Ke Rong;Kexin Yang;Zhiying Bao;Xiaotong Zhang;Zhi Zhang;Yanni Gong;Jiafu Wang-.Effects of active molecules of Korean pine seed on rodent health and implications for forest regeneration)[J].林业研究（英文版）,2022(03):1045-1060

koraien,Squirrels,hoard,Khingan,coevolutionary,PNO

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