scholarly journals Probiotics: How Effective Are They in the Fight against Obesity?

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran Mazloom ◽  
Imran Siddiqi ◽  
Mihai Covasa
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Energy Harvest ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Potential Efficacy ◽  
Optimal Health ◽  
Gut Microbe ◽  
Probiotic Strains ◽  
Microbe Diversity ◽  
Metabolic Dysfunctions

Obesity has been associated with structural and functional changes in the gut microbiota. The abundance in, and diversity of, certain bacteria may favor energy harvest and metabolic pathways leading to obesity. Therefore, gut microbiota has become a potential target that can be manipulated to obtain optimal health. Probiotics have been shown to influence the composition of the gut microbiota, improve gut integrity, and restore the microbial shifts characteristic of obesity. Based on physical and biochemical parameters, metabolic and inflammatory markers, and alterations in gut microbe diversity, animal studies revealed beneficial results in obese models whereas the results in humans are sparse and inconsistent. Thus, the purpose of this review is to present evidence from animal studies and human clinical trials demonstrating the effects of various probiotic strains and their potential efficacy in improving obesity and associated metabolic dysfunctions. Furthermore, the review discusses current gaps in our understanding of how probiotics modulate gut microflora to protect against obesity. Finally, we propose future studies and methodological approaches that may shed light on the challenges facing the scientific community in deciphering the host–bacteria interaction in obesity.

Gut Microbiota, Obesity and Bariatric Surgery: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (18) ◽  
pp. 2038-2050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Florinela Cӑtoi ◽  
Dan Cristian Vodnar ◽  
Andreea Corina ◽  
Dragana Nikolic ◽  
Roberto Citarrella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bariatric Surgery ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Potential Efficacy ◽  
Metabolic Dysfunctions ◽  
Obesity Drugs

Background:: There is an urgent need for a better understanding and management of obesity and obesity- associated diseases. It is known that obesity is associated with structural and functional changes in the microbiome. Methods:: The purpose of this review is to present current evidence from animal and human studies, demonstrating the effects and the potential efficacy of microbiota modulation in improving obesity and associated metabolic dysfunctions. Results:: This review discusses possible mechanisms linking gut microbiota dysbiosis and obesity, since there is a dual interaction between the two of them. Furthermore, comments on bariatric surgery, as a favourable model to understand the underlying metabolic and inflammatory effects, as well as its association with changes in the composition of the gut microbiota, are included. Also, a possible impact of anti-obesity drugs and the novel antidiabetic drugs on the gut microbiota has been briefly discussed. Conclusion:: More research is needed to better understand here discussed the association between microbiota modulation and obesity. It is expected that research in this field, in the following years, will lead to a personalized therapeutic approach considering the patient’s microbiome, and also give rise to the discovery of new drugs and/or the combination therapies for the management of obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities.

scholarly journals Therapeutic and Improving Function of Lactobacilli in the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular-Related Diseases: A Novel Perspective From Gut Microbiota

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zhao ◽  
Xinqin Zhong ◽  
Xiao Liu ◽  
Xiaoying Wang ◽  
Xiumei Gao
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Inflammatory Factors ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Beneficial Impact ◽  
Infarction Heart ◽  
And Oxidative Stress

The occurrence and development of cardiovascular-related diseases are associated with structural and functional changes in gut microbiota (GM). The accumulation of beneficial gut commensals contributes to the improvement of cardiovascular-related diseases. The cardiovascular-related diseases that can be relieved by Lactobacillus supplementation, including hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, heart failure, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity, have expanded. As probiotics, lactobacilli occupy a substantial part of the GM and play important functional roles through various GM-derived metabolites. Lactobacilli ultimately have a beneficial impact on lipid metabolism, inflammatory factors, and oxidative stress to relieve the symptoms of cardiovascular-related diseases. However, the axis and cellular process of gut commensal Lactobacillus in improving cardiovascular-related diseases have not been fully elucidated. Additionally, Lactobacillus strains produce diverse antimicrobial peptides, which help maintain intestinal homeostasis and ameliorate cardiovascular-related diseases. These strains are a field that needs to be further investigated immediately. Thus, this review demonstrated the mechanisms and summarized the evidence of the benefit of Lactobacillus strain supplementation from animal studies and human clinical trials. We also highlighted a broad range of lactobacilli candidates with therapeutic capability by mining their metabolites. Our study provides instruction in the development of lactobacilli as a functional food to improve cardiovascular-related diseases.

scholarly journals Gut Microbiota and Obesity in Adults and Children: The State of the Art

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maddalena Petraroli ◽  
Eleonora Castellone ◽  
Viviana Patianna ◽  
Susanna Esposito
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Pediatric Population ◽  
Liver Steatosis ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Modifiable Factors ◽  
Probiotic Strains ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Treatment Of Obesity ◽  
The Right ◽  
Metabolic Dysfunctions

In recent decades, obesity has become a serious public health problem affecting both children and adults. Considering the multifactorial origin of obesity, including modifiable factors, childhood was identified as the golden age for investing in obesity prevention by both promoting proper lifestyles and actively intervening in possible triggers. The gut microbiota is at the center of the most recent scientific studies and plays a key role in obesity development because it is intimately linked to energetic-humoral variations in the host: its alterations can promote a state of excessive energy storage, and it can be manipulated to maintain energy homoeostasis. This review aims to offer a panoramic understanding of the interplay between obesity and the gut microbiota, focusing on the contribution that the gut microbiota could have to the prevention of childhood obesity and its complications in adulthood. Currently, the use of some specific probiotic strains has been shown to be able to act on some secondary metabolic consequences of obesity (such as liver steatosis and insulin resistance) without any effect on weight loss. Although definitive conclusions cannot be drawn on the real impact of probiotics and prebiotics, there is no doubt that they represent an exciting new frontier in the treatment of obesity and associated metabolic dysfunctions. Targeted studies randomized on specific populations and homogeneous for ethnicity, sex, and age are urgently needed to reach definitive conclusions about the influence of microbiota on weight. In particular, we still need more studies in the pediatric population to better understand when the switch to an obese-like gut microbiota takes place and to better comprehend the right timing of each intervention, including the use of pre/probiotics, to improve it.

scholarly journals Effects of Polyphenols in Tea (Camellia sinensis sp.) on the Modulation of Gut Microbiota in Human Trials and Animal Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-216
Author(s):  
Mus Azza Suhana Khairudin ◽  
Abbe Maleyki Mhd Jalil ◽  
Napisah Hussin
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Tea Polyphenols ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Polyphenol Compounds ◽  
Human Trials ◽  
Diet Induced Obesity ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Meta Analyses

A diet high in polyphenols is associated with a diversified gut microbiome. Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, after water. The health benefits of tea might be attributed to the presence of polyphenol compounds such as flavonoids (e.g., catechins and epicatechins), theaflavins, and tannins. Although many studies have been conducted on tea, little is known of its effects on the trillions of gut microbiota. Hence, this review aimed to systematically study the effect of tea polyphenols on the stimulation or suppression of gut microbiota in humans and animals. It was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. Articles were retrieved from PubMed and Scopus databases, and data were extracted from 6 human trials and 15 animal studies. Overall, large variations were observed in terms of microbiota composition between humans and animals. A more consistent pattern of diversified microbiota was observed in animal studies. Tea alleviated the gut microbiota imbalance caused by high-fat diet-induced obesity, diabetes, and ultraviolet-induced damage. The overall changes in microbiota composition measured by beta diversity analysis showed that tea had shifted the microbiota from the pattern seen in animals that received tea-free intervention. In humans, a prebiotic-like effect was observed toward the gut microbiota, but these results appeared in lower-quality studies. The beta diversity in human microbiota remains intact despite tea intervention; supplementation with different teas affects different types of bacterial taxa in the gut. These studies suggest that tea polyphenols may have a prebiotic effect in disease-induced animals and in a limited number of human interventions. Further intervention is needed to identify the mechanisms of action underlying the effects of tea on gut microbiota.

Diabetes diminishes typical metabolite of litchi pericarp oligomeric procyanidins (LPOPC) in urine mediated by imbalanced gut microbiota

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaopeng Li ◽  
Yong Sui ◽  
B. Xie ◽  
Zhida Sun ◽  
Shuyi Li
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Dietary Polyphenols ◽  
Litchi Pericarp

Animal studies and clinical trials have shown that dietary polyphenols and polyphenol-rich foods can reduce the risk of T2D and its complications, but how diabetes regulates the metabolism of polyphenol...

scholarly journals Identification of gut microbiome markers for schizophrenia delineates a potential role of Streptococcus

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Zhu ◽  
Yanmei Ju ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
Ruijin Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Validation Cohort ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Metagenomic Sequencing ◽  
Operating Characteristics ◽  
Discovery Cohort ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Microbial Biomarkers

AbstractEmerging evidence has linked the gut microbiota to schizophrenia. However, the functional changes in the gut microbiota and the biological role of individual bacterial species in schizophrenia have not been explored systematically. Here, we characterized the gut microbiota in schizophrenia using shotgun metagenomic sequencing of feces from a discovery cohort of 90 drug-free patients and 81 controls, as well as a validation cohort of 45 patients taking antipsychotics and 45 controls. We screened 83 schizophrenia-associated bacterial species and constructed a classifier comprising 26 microbial biomarkers that distinguished patients from controls with a 0.896 area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) in the discovery cohort and 0.765 AUC in the validation cohort. Our analysis of fecal metagenomes revealed that schizophrenia-associated gut–brain modules included short-chain fatty acids synthesis, tryptophan metabolism, and synthesis/degradation of neurotransmitters including glutamate, γ-aminobutyric acid, and nitric oxide. The schizophrenia-enriched gut bacterial species include several oral cavity-resident microbes, such as Streptococcus vestibularis. We transplanted Streptococcus vestibularis into the gut of the mice with antibiotic-induced microbiota depletion to explore its functional role. We observed that this microbe transiently inhabited the mouse gut and this was followed by hyperactivity and deficit in social behaviors, accompanied with altered neurotransmitter levels in peripheral tissues. In conclusion, our study identified 26 schizophrenia-associated bacterial species representing potential microbial targets for future treatment, as well as gut–brain modules, some of which may give rise to new microbial metabolites involved in the development of schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Metagenomic analysis of taxonomic and functional changes in gut microbiota of patients with alcoholic dependence syndrome

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 742-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.B. Dubinkina ◽  
A.V. Tyakht ◽  
E.N. Ilina ◽  
D.S. Ischenko ◽  
B.A. Kovarsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Differential Analysis ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogens ◽  
Metabolic Potential ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Inflammatory Processes ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Alcohol Dependence Syndrome ◽  
Metagenomic Study

Here we present the first metagenomic study of gut microbiota in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) performed in the whole-genome (“shotgun”) format. Taxonomic analysis highlighted changes in community “drivers” abundance previously associated with inflammatory processes (including increase in Ruminococcus gnavus and torques, as well as decrease in Faecalibacterium and Akkermansia). Microbiota of alcoholics manifested presence of specific opportunistic pathogens rarely detected in healthy control subjects of the world. Differential analysis of metabolic potential basing on changes in KEGG Orthology groups abundance revealed increase in pathways associated with response to oxidative stress. Analysis of two specific gene groups – alcohol metabolism and virulence factors – also showed increase in comparison with the control groups. We suggest that gut microbiota distinct in alcoholics by both taxonomic and functional composition plays role in modulating the effect of alcohol on host organism.

scholarly journals Kin selection explains the evolution of cooperation in the gut microbiota

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. e2016046118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Simonet ◽  
Luke McNally
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Community Management ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Full Diversity ◽  
Gut Microbe ◽  
Disease Understanding ◽  
Key Parameter

Through the secretion of “public goods” molecules, microbes cooperatively exploit their habitat. This is known as a major driver of the functioning of microbial communities, including in human disease. Understanding why microbial species cooperate is therefore crucial to achieve successful microbial community management, such as microbiome manipulation. A leading explanation is that of Hamilton’s inclusive-fitness framework. A cooperator can indirectly transmit its genes by helping the reproduction of an individual carrying similar genes. Therefore, all else being equal, as relatedness among individuals increases, so should cooperation. However, the predictive power of relatedness, particularly in microbes, is surrounded by controversy. Using phylogenetic comparative analyses across the full diversity of the human gut microbiota and six forms of cooperation, we find that relatedness is predictive of the cooperative gene content evolution in gut-microbe genomes. Hence, relatedness is predictive of cooperation over broad microbial taxonomic levels that encompass variation in other life-history and ecology details. This supports the generality of Hamilton’s central insights and the relevance of relatedness as a key parameter of interest to advance microbial predictive and engineering science.

scholarly journals The Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Brain and Cognitive Function

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jip Gudden ◽  
Alejandro Arias Vasquez ◽  
Mirjam Bloemendaal
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Caloric Intake ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Intermittent Fasting ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Positive Effects

The importance of diet and the gut-brain axis for brain health and cognitive function is increasingly acknowledged. Dietary interventions are tested for their potential to prevent and/or treat brain disorders. Intermittent fasting (IF), the abstinence or strong limitation of calories for 12 to 48 hours, alternated with periods of regular food intake, has shown promising results on neurobiological health in animal models. In this review article, we discuss the potential benefits of IF on cognitive function and the possible effects on the prevention and progress of brain-related disorders in animals and humans. We do so by summarizing the effects of IF which - through metabolic, cellular and circadian mechanisms - lead to anatomical and functional changes in the brain. Our review shows that there is no clear evidence of a positive short-term effect of IF on cognition in healthy subjects. Clinical studies show benefits of IF for epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis on disease symptoms and progress. Findings from animal studies show mechanisms by which Parkinson’s disease, ischaemic stroke, autism spectrum disorder and mood- and anxiety disorders could benefit from IF. Future research should disentangle whether positive effects of IF hold true regardless of age or the presence of obesity. Also, variations in fasting patterns, total caloric intake and intake of specific nutrients may be relevant components of IF success. Longitudinal studies and Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) will provide a window into the long-term effects of IF on the development and progress of brain-related diseases.

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