Anti-obesity effects of Camellia (Camellia oleifera Abel) oil treatment on high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice

PURPOSE

In the current study, we investigated the effects of camellia oil and camellia oil infused with herbs (Camellia oleifera Abel) on obesity in obese mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD).

METHODS

The antioxidant activity of camellia oil in scavenging free radicals was investigated. Additionally, body and organ weight changes, serum and liver marker parameters, antioxidant enzyme activities, liver and epididymal fat histology, protein and gene expression associated with lipogenesis and hyperglycemia effect on adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, were examined in HFD-induced obese mice.

RESULTS

The hepatic steatosis and epididymal fat were significantly reduced by the oral administration of camellia oil and herb-infused camellia oil. Moreover, hepatic and serum marker parameters such as total cholesterol, insulin, triglycerides, tumor necrosis factor-α, adiponectin, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine transaminase were beneficially impacted. Additionally, the activity of antioxidant enzymes also increased. Camellia oil and herb-infused camellia oil treatments reduced the expression of genes linked to hyperglycemia and lipogenesis via activation of AMPK phosphorylation.

CONCLUSION

For many people, exercise poses an obstacle in the daily routine due to lack of ease, difficulty in maintaining consistency, and hard work. Camellia oil combined with herbs has anti-obesity and antihyperglycemic effects. These findings indicate that treatment with herb-infused camellia oil is most beneficial for elderly individuals who do not prefer frequent exercise.

The Mechanisms of the Potential Probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum against Cardiovascular Disease and the Recent Developments in its Fermented Foods

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become the leading cause of death worldwide. Many recent studies have pointed out that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (Lb. plantarum) has great potential in reducing the risk of CVD. Lb. plantarum is a kind of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) widely distributed in fermented food and the human intestinal tract, some strains of which have important effects on human health and the potential to be developed into probiotics. In this review, we summarize the mechanism of potential probiotic strains of Lb. plantarum against CVD. It could regulate the body’s metabolism at the molecular, cellular, and population levels, thereby lowering blood glucose and blood lipids, regulating blood pressure, and ultimately reducing the incidence of CVD. Furthermore, since Lb. plantarum is widely utilized in food industry, we highlight some of the most important new developments in fermented food for combating CVD; providing an insight into these fermented foods can assist scientists in improving the quality of these foods as well as alleviating patients’ CVD symptoms. We hope that in the future functional foods fermented by Lb. plantarum can be developed and incorporated into the daily diet to assist medication in alleviating CVD to some extent, and maintaining good health.

Coix Seed-Based Milk Fermented With Limosilactobacillus reuteri Improves Lipid Metabolism and Gut Microbiota in Mice Fed With a High-Fat Diet

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of coix seed-based milk (CSM) fermented with Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) on dyslipidemia and the composition of the intestinal microbiota in high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Changes in the body weight, serum lipid levels, activities of hepatic oxidative stress factors, expression of lipid-related genes, and composition of the intestinal microbiota of HFD-fed mice after supplementation with CSM were determined. The results showed that intake of CSM reduced the body weight gain as well as serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and increased the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in the mice. Meanwhile, supplementation with CSM could relieve liver oxidative stress, down-regulate the expression of genes related to lipid synthesis, and prevent liver fat accumulation in mice fed with HFD. The 16S rRNA sequencing of the intestinal microbiota showed that CSM regulated the gut microbiota community structure at different taxonomic levels, and reversed gut dysbiosis induced by HFD. The relative abundance of Muribaculaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Dubosiella and Akkermansia which are negatively correlated with blood lipid levels were significantly increased by the intervention of CSM, while the relative abundance of Desulfovibrionaceae, Ruminococca-ceae_UCG-014, Psychrobacter, and Staphylococcus which have positive correlation with blood lipid levels were significantly decreased. These results indicated that CSM might serve as a novel and promising dietary supplement for ameliorating hyperlipidemia and intestinal microbiota disorders caused by HFDs.

Functional yogurt fermented by two-probiotics regulates blood lipid and weight in a high-fat diet mouse model

We investigated the blood lipid regulation effects and mechanism of a functional Natto yogurt in a high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia mouse model. Natto yogurt was characteristically fermented by Bacillus natto and Lactobacillus plantarum with milk-soy dual protein as substrates. After 5 weeks of Natto yogurt consumption, the body weight, fat, and liver weight of mice were significantly improved, while serum levels of TG, TC, LDL, ALT, TBIL, and TBA were reduced. Natto yogurt significantly decreased the area of liver fat infiltration and the number of lipid droplets. In mechanism, we found that Natto yogurt can inhibit fatty acid synthesis and enhance fatty acid catabolism by regulating the expression of PPARα, PPARγ, CD36 and FAS in the liver. Moreover, Natto yogurt increased the ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes in the intestine. These results provide a possibility for Natto yogurt as a dual protein functional food to prevent and treat hyperlipidemia and obesity. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Traditional-fermented yogurt promotes nutritional absorption and reduces blood pressure and fat, while Bacillus natto and its fermented food have been proved to play a significant role in improving cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and obesity. Therefore, we developed a new dual protein functional yogurt (Natto yogurt) fermented by B. natto and Lactobacillus plantarum with milk and soy as substrates. We found that Natto yogurt could notably regulate blood lipid by inhibiting the synthesis of fatty acids, accelerating the catabolism of fatty acids, reducing liver damage, and increasing the abundance of beneficial intestinal microorganisms. This study suggested that Natto yogurt could improve hyperlipidemia and obesity as a safe, effective, and healthy functional food.

Skimmed milk fermented by lactic acid bacteria inhibits adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes by downregulating PPARγ via TNF-α induction in vitro

The murine 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte cell line is widely used as an in vitro model for adipogenesis because of its similarities to primary fat cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the intracellular mechanisms by which skimmed milk fermented by two lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus plantarum, inhibited the differentiation of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. Skimmed milk fermented by both LAB, but not non-fermented skimmed milk, significantly reduced the accumulation of lipid droplets and cellular triglycerides in a concentration-dependent manner. The mRNA and protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) were markedly inhibited in the presence of skimmed milk fermented by both LAB. Furthermore, the skimmed milk fermented by both LAB decreased the mRNA and protein expressions of PPARγ-targeting genes, lipoprotein lipase and adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein. Under the same circumstances, resistin mRNA expression was downregulated, but not leptin mRNA expression. In contrast, skimmed milk fermented by both LAB significantly upregulated tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). These results suggest that LAB-fermented skimmed milk inhibits adipogenesis by inhibiting a master transcription factor PPARγ via the upregulation of the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α in 3T3-L1 cells.

Oral administration of camellia oil ameliorates obesity and modifies the gut microbiota composition in mice fed a high-fat diet

Obesity, which is often caused by adipocyte metabolism dysfunction, is rapidly becoming a serious global health issue. Studies in the literature have shown that camellia oil (Camellia oleifera Abel) exerted potential lipid regulation and other multiple biological activities. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of camellia oil on obese mice induced by a high-fat diet and to explore gut microbiota alterations after camellia oil intervention. The results showed that oral administration of camellia oil dramatically attenuated the fat deposits, serum levels of the total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, the atherosclerosis index, the hepatic steatosis and inflammation in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Meanwhile, the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in obese mice was enhanced after the camellia oil treatment. Furthermore, 16S rRNA analysis showed that certain aspects of the gut microbiota, especially the gut microbiota diversity and the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Coriobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus and Anoxybacillus, were significantly increased by camellia oil treatment while the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was decreased. Taken together, our finding suggested that camellia oil was a potential dietary supplement and functional food for ameliorating fat deposits, hyperglycemia and fatty liver, probably by modifying the gut microbiota composition.

Probiotics in the dairy industry-Advances and opportunities

The past two decades have witnessed a global surge in the application of probiotics as functional ingredients in food, animal feed, and pharmaceutical products. Among food industries, the dairy industry is the largest sector where probiotics are employed in a number of dairy products including sour/fermented milk, yogurt, cheese, butter/cream, ice cream, and infant formula. These probiotics are either used as starter culture alone or in combination with traditional starters, or incorporated into dairy products following fermentation, where their presence imparts many functional characteristics to the product (for instance, improved aroma, taste, and textural characteristics), in addition to conferring many health-promoting properties. However, there are still many challenges related to the stability and functionality of probiotics in dairy products. This review highlights the advances, opportunities, and challenges of application of probiotics in dairy industries. Benefits imparted by probiotics to dairy products including their role in physicochemical characteristics and nutritional properties (clinical and functional perspective) are also discussed. We transcend the traditional concept of the application of probiotics in dairy products and discuss paraprobiotics and postbiotics as a newly emerged concept in the field of probiotics in a particular relation to the dairy industry. Some potential applications of paraprobiotics and postbiotics in dairy products as functional ingredients for the development of functional dairy products with health-promoting properties are briefly elucidated.