04.19.10
Administration of Danisco’s probiotic strain Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis 420 (B420) may improve metabolic syndrome by reducing tissue inflammation and reducing metabolic endotoxaemia, thereby counteracting the adverse effects of high-fat diet, according to a new study.
The team of Professor Remy Burcelin, an internationally renowned expert of glucose metabolism and research director at the National Institute of Health & Medical Research (INSERM) in Toulouse, France, carried out the study in collaboration with Danisco Health & Nutrition Research Centre in Kantvik, Finland. Professor Burcelin presented details of the new study in the Keystone Symposium on Diabetes held in April in Whistler, Canada.
In a series of experiments with mice on a high-fat diet, the researchers showed that administration of the probiotic strain B420 to diabetic mice improved the fasting glycaemia and restored the glucose turnover rate to the level of the control mice fed with normal chow. Importantly, the probiotic treatment reduced the fasted insulin levels, but improved the insulin secretion upon glucose challenge, indicating an improved metabolic flexibility and restoration of normal glucose metabolism, and a potential beneficial effect on metabolic syndrome (MetS). Further studies exploring the mechanisms of the observed effects revealed that the beneficial effect of B420 is mediated by the reduction of plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent pro-inflammatory molecule. B420 changes intestinal mucosal microbiota and reduces the efflux of LPS into plasma, thereby reducing inflammation and improving insulin metabolism.
Danisco is now investing further in research into the effects of probiotics to reduce metabolic syndrome. For further information: www.danisco.com