Abstract

DOES LACTOBACILLUS GASSERI BRING BENEFITS TO THE METABOLIC PROFILE OF WISTAR RATS FED A HYPERCALORIC DIET?

Cláudia Rucco P. Detregiachi, Patrícia C. S. Bueno, Sandra Maria Barbalho*, Élen Landgraf Guiguer, Amauri Marcelo Barboza Júnior, Leonardo Gonçalves Sugui, Welliton Medeiros Cavalcante

Abstract

Obesity is considered a pandemic and is associated with innumerable risks and complications for health. Lactobacillus gasseri is a lactic acid probiotic bacterium that that may promote beneficial effects in rats and humans, such as improving the intestinal environment, reducing glycaemia and decreasing body weight and abdominal fat. In view of these effects, this study intended to evaluate the effect of Lactobacillus gasseri on the weight gain, visceral fat, and biochemical profile of Wistar rats fed a hypercaloric diet. Two experimental groups were used: G1 (control group treated with water and rat food ad libitum, and 0.5 mL of water using gavage route once a day) and G2 (treated with water and rat food ad libitum, and 109 CFU (Colony Forming Units) of Lactobacillus gasseri using gavage route once a day). Our results showed that the animals presented similar body weight at the beginning and at the end of the experimental protocol. Percentage of weight gain and visceral fat was higher in G2. Both thoracic and abdominal circumference were higher in G2. No modifications in glycaemia, total cholesterol and triglycerides were found after the treatment. We may conclude that the supply Lactobacillus gasseri was not able to generate beneficial results on weight, adipose tissue and biochemical profile in the animals fed with hypercaloric diet.

Keywords: Lactobacillus gasseri, obesity, lipids, glycaemia.