New probiotic strain may help reduce blood sugar and weight: Lancet Study

Ireland: The human gut microbiota has emerged as a key factor in the development of obesity. Certain probiotic strains have shown anti-obesity effects.

New strain of Bifidobacterium longum shows potential to be developed as a valuable supplement in reducing specific obesity markers, suggests a new study. According to the study, published in the Lancet journal EBioMedicine, the supplementation of the new strain, B. longum APC1472, reduced the fasting blood sugar levels and normalized active levels of both ghrelin and the stress hormone cortisol in in otherwise healthy overweight and obese people. 

The human gut microbiota has emerged as a key factor in the development of obesity. Some probiotic strains have shown anti-obesity effects. In the study, Harriët Schellekens, APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, and colleagues investigated whether B. longum APC1472 has anti-obesity effects in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Also, they determined if B. longum APC1472 supplementation reduces body-mass index (BMI) in healthy overweight/obese individuals as the primary outcome. B. longum APC1472 effects on waist-to-hip ratio (W/H ratio) and on obesity-associated plasma biomarkers were analysed as secondary outcomes.

For the purpose, the researchers administered B. longum APC1472 to HFD-fed C57BL/6 mice in drinking water for 16 weeks. In the human intervention trial, participants received B. longum APC1472 or placebo supplementation for 12 weeks, during which primary and secondary outcomes were measured at the beginning and end of the intervention. 

"This study shows a positive translational effect of B. longum APC1472 on fasting blood glucose from a preclinical mouse model of obesity to a human intervention study in otherwise healthy overweight and obese individuals," wrote the authors.

"Our findings highlight the promising potential of B. longum APC1472 to be developed as a valuable supplement in reducing specific markers of obesity," they concluded.

The study, "Bifidobacterium longum counters the effects of obesity: Partial successful translation from rodent to human," is published in the journal EBioMedicine.

DOI: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(20)30552-1/fulltext