METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to one of five groups of varying diets as follows: standard diet, high fat diet (HFD), HFD supplemented with Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota, HFD supplemented with Bifidobacterium longum and HFD supplemented with a mixture of these two bacterial species. After 15 weeks of supplementation, the animals were examined for changes in body weight, body fat, total count of bacteria in fecal, blood serum lipid profile, leptin, adiponectin and inflammatory biomarkers. Histological analysis of the liver and adipose tissue was performed and the hepatic mRNA expression levels of genes related to lipid metabolism were measured. It was found that probiotic supplementation of either B. longum or a mixture of B. longum and LcS bacteria significantly reduced weight and triglycerides in the HFD groups. Supplementation of B. longum bacteria showed better results in terms of modulating leptin level, fat mass, adipocyte size and lipoprotein lipase expression, as well as increasing adiponectin and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-γ expression compared to dual species of bacteria. No significant differences were observed in the total count of fecal bacteria, glucose and inflammatory biomarker levels between supplemented groups.
CONCLUSIONS: B. longum supplementation in obesity was more beneficial in metabolic profile changes than the mixture species.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a study to assess the efficacy of single-strain versus mixed-strain probiotic supplementation on bone health using an ovariectomy (OVX) rat model of induced bone loss. The probiotics evaluated were Lactobacillus helveticus (L. helveticus), Bifidobacterium longum (B. longum), and a combination of both. Rats were divided into five groups: SHAM (Control negative), OVX (Control positive), OVX +L. helveticus, OVX + B. longum, and OVX + mixed L. helveticus and B. longum. Daily oral administration of probiotics at 10^8-10^9 CFU/mL began two weeks post-surgery and continued for 16 weeks.
RESULTS: Both single-strain and mixed-strain probiotic supplementation upregulated expression of osteoblastic genes (BMP- 2, RUNX-2, OSX), increased serum osteocalcin (OC) levels, and improved bone formation parameters. Serum C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) levels and bone resorption parameters were reduced. However, the single-strain supplementation demonstrated superior efficacy compared to the mixed-strain approach.
CONCLUSION: Supplementation with B. longum and L. helveticus significantly reduces bone resorption and improves bone health in OVX rats, with single-strain supplementation showing greater efficacy compared to a mixed-strain combination. These findings highlight the potential of probiotics as a therapeutic intervention for osteoporosis, warranting further investigation in human studies.
DESIGN: A randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, controlled clinical trial.
SETTING: Diabetes clinic of a teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: A total of 136 participants with type 2 diabetes, aged 30-70 years, were recruited and randomly assigned to receive either probiotics (n = 68) or placebo (n = 68) for 12 weeks.
OUTCOMES: Primary outcomes were glycemic control-related parameters, and secondary outcomes were anthropomorphic variables, lipid profile, blood pressure and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. The Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium quantities were measured before and after intervention as an indicator of successful passage of the supplement through gastrointestinal tract.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis was performed on all participants, while per-protocol (PP) analysis was performed on those participants who had successfully completed the trial with good compliance rate.
RESULTS: With respect to primary outcomes, glycated hemoglobin decreased by 0.14 % in the probiotics and increased by 0.02 % in the placebo group in PP analysis (p