Search

Background The human gut microbiota has emerged as a key factor in the development of obesity. Certain probiotic strains have shown anti-obesity effects. The objective of this study was to investigate whether Bifidobacterium longum APC1472 has anti-obesity effects in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and whether 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. Methods B. longum APC1472 was administered 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. Findings B. longum APC1472 supplementation was associated with decreased bodyweight, fat depots accumulation and increased glucose tolerance in HFD-fed mice. While, in healthy overweight/obese adults, the supplementation of B. longum APC1472 strain did not change primary outcomes of BMI (0.03, 95% CI [-0.4, 0.3]) or W/H ratio (0.003, 95% CI [-0.01, 0.01]), a positive effect on the secondary outcome of fasting blood glucose levels was found (-0.299, 95% CI [-0.44, -0.09]). Interpretation 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. This highlights the promising potential of B. longum APC1472 to be developed as a valuable supplement in reducing specific markers of obesity. Funding This research was funded in part by Science Foundation Ireland in the form of a Research Centre grant (SFI/12/RC/2273) to APC Microbiome Ireland and by a research grant from Cremo S.A.

SCOPE Increasing scientific evidence is validating the use of dietary strategies to support and improve brain health throughout the lifespan, with tailored nutritional interventions catering for specific life stages. Dietary phospholipid supplementations in early life and adulthood have been shown to alleviate some of the behavioural consequences associated with chronic stress. This study aims to explore the protective effects of a tailored phospholipid-enriched buttermilk on behavioural and endocrine responses induced by chronic psychosocial stress in adulthood, and to compare these effects according to the life stage at which the supplementation was started. METHODS AND RESULTS We developed a novel phospholipid-enriched dairy product and assessed social, anxiety- and depressive-like behaviours, as well as the stress response and cognitive performance following chronic psychosocial stress in C57 BL/6 J mice, with supplementation beginning in adulthood or early life. Milk phospholipid supplementation from birth protected adult mice against chronic stress-induced changes in endocrine response to a subsequent acute stressor and reduced innate anxiety-like behaviour in non-stressed animals. When starting in adulthood, the dietary intervention reversed the anxiety-like phenotype caused by chronic stress exposure. CONCLUSION Dairy-derived phospholipids exert differential protective effects against chronic psychosocial stress depending on the targeted life stage and duration of the dietary supplementation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.