Ingesting Yogurt Containing Lactobacillus plantarum OLL2712 Reduces Abdominal Fat Accumulation and Chronic Inflammation in Overweight Adults in a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Chronic inflammation and insulin resistance are factors that are related to obesity. We have suggested that the administration of heat-treated Lactobacillus plantarum OLL2712 (OLL2712) cells can improve glucose and lipid metabolism by suppressing chronic inflammation in mouse models and a preliminary clinical study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether ingesting OLL2712 cells can reduce body fat accumulation and improve metabolic risk factors, in overweight, healthy adults.

Methods: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial conducted at a single center in Japan. The study participants included 100 overweight (BMI range, ≥25 to <30 kg/m²) adults aged 20-64 y. They were randomly assigned to either the placebo or OLL2712 group (n = 50 each) and were administered conventional yogurt or yogurt containing >5 × 10⁹ heat-treated OLL2712 cells, respectively, daily for 12 wk. The primary outcome was the 12-wk change in the abdominal fat area, as assessed by computed tomography, and the secondary outcomes were glucose and lipid metabolism-related parameters and chronic inflammation markers, which were analyzed using a linear mixed model.

Results: The 12-wk change of abdominal fat area (difference: 8.5 cm²; 95% CI: 0.3, 16.6 cm²; P = 0.040) and fasting plasma glucose (difference: 3.2 mg/dL; 95% CI: 0.8, 5.6 mg/dL; P = 0.021) were significantly less in the OLL2712 group than the placebo group. The overall trend of serum IL-6 was significantly decreased in the OLL2712 group compared with baseline and the placebo group.

Conclusions: The ingestion of heat-treated OLL2712 cells reduces body fat accumulation and the deterioration of glycemic control and chronic inflammation, in overweight, healthy adults. We hypothesize that OLL2712 cells may prevent obesity by regulating chronic inflammation. This trial was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN000027709.

Keywords: HOMA-IR; Lactobacillus plantarum; abdominal fat area; chronic inflammation; fasting plasma glucose; high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; insulin resistance; interleukin-6; yogurt.

FIGURE 1

Flow chart of study participants. The placebo group received conventional yogurt and the OLL2712 group received yogurt containing >5 × 10⁹ heat-treated Lactobacillus plantarum OLL2712 cells. CT, computed tomography.