Published online Jan 7, 2021. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i1.107
Peer-review started: November 9, 2020
First decision: November 23, 2020
Revised: December 7, 2020
Accepted: December 16, 2020
Article in press: December 16, 2020
Published online: January 7, 2021
Gut microbiota (GM) play an important role in the nutrient absorption and energy regulation of individuals, thus affecting their nutritional status. GM also affect body weight, especially obesity, a condition wherein the accumulation of abnormal or excessive fat can interfere with health. Obesity in Indonesia showed an increasing prevalence in every province from 2007 to 2018. One study found a link between GM and body weight. Probiotics, as healthy bacteria, can improve an individual’s health status by affecting GM composition. The consumption of probiotics may maintain this status and reduce the weight gain of adults with obesity in Indonesia.
This research aimed to investigate the effect of the consumption of an indigenous probiotic on overweight people. The results obtained may be used to determine the condition of GM in overweight people and the effect of indigenous probiotics on the GM of overweight adults. These results may also be used to determine the treatment of probiotic consumption that is most suitable and effective for overweight individuals in Indonesia to improve their health status.
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the consumption of the indigenous probiotic powder L. plantarum Dad-13 on overweight adults in Indonesia.
Sixty overweight volunteers with body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 25 consumed indigenous probiotic powder L. plantarum Dad-13 (2 × 109 CFU/gram/sachet) for 90 d. The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The volunteers filled in a diary on a daily basis, which consisted of questions on study product intake (only during the ingestion period), other food intake, number of bowel movements, fecal quality (consistency and color), any medications received, and any symptom of discomfort, such as diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, gassing, sensation of illness, etc. Fecal samples and the subjects’ diaries were collected on the morning of day 10 + 1, marked as the end of the baseline period and the start of the ingestion period. During the ingestion period (from day 11 to day 101), several parameters to measure and analyze the results included body weight and height (once a month), the lipid profile, GM analysis using MiSeq, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) analysis using gas chromatography, and the measurement of fecal pH using a pH meter.
The consumption of indigenous probiotic powder L. plantarum Dad-13 by overweight people caused the average body weight and BMI of the probiotic group to decrease from 84.54 ± 17.64 kg to 83.14 ± 14.71 kg and from 33.10 ± 6.15 kg/m2 to 32.57 ± 5.01 kg/m2, respectively. No significant reduction in the body weight and BMI of the placebo group was found. An analysis of the microbiota showed that the number of Bacteroidetes, specifically Prevotella, increased significantly, while Firmicutes significantly decreased. No significant change in lipid profile was observed in both groups. Also, no significant change in SCFAs (butyrate, propionate, acetic acid) and pH level were found after the consumption of the probiotic.
No significant differences in pH were found before and after ingestion in both the probiotic and placebo groups as well as in the lipid profile of both cholesterol and triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and the LDL/HDL ratio. In addition, no significant changes were observed in the concentration of SCFAs (acetic acid, propionate, and butyrate) after consumption. Interestingly, a significant decrease in body weight and BMI (P < 0.05) was found in the treatment group. An analysis of the GM shows that L. plantarum Dad-13 was able to decrease Firmicutes and increase Bacteroidetes (especially Prevotella).
These results proved that the consumption of probiotics among overweight adults helps significantly reduce body weight, especially in women, and affects the composition of GM.