Anti-obesity effect of Probiotic carrot nectar incorporated with L. plantarum MCC5231

Abstract Obesity is a major risk factor for diseases like cardiovascular issues, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and NAFLD. Timely detection and treatment of obesity related symptoms such as high BMI, dyslipidemia and organ dysfunction can significantly reduce these risks. In this study, we investigated the improved anti-obesity potential of probiotic carrot nectar incorporated with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum (L. plantarum) MCC5231 in comparison to L. plantarum only or carrot nectar only effect. The results showed that the probiotic treatment of high fat fed (HFD) mice led to a gut microbiota modulation by increasing the abundance of essential bacteria, particularly probiotic L. plantarum. The probiotic treated groups consisted of 7.6 log CFU/mL of L. plantarum compared to 4.01 log CFU/mL in high fat diet fed control (HFD) group. Additionally, treatment with the probiotic product (PP) reduced the total cholesterol by 24.6% in comparison to the HFD group. This reduction ruction was 6.1% higher in comparison to the group fed directly with L. plantarum cells (LP). In contrast, the HDL/LDL ratios of HFD, LP and PP groups were observed as 0.42, 0.63 and 0.8, respectively, indicating a more favorable serum lipoprotein balance in probiotic treated groups. Concurrently, mice fed with probiotic carrot nectar exhibited a higher reduction in BMI (3.05 kg/m²) compared to those fed solely with probiotic bacteria (3.29 kg/m²), while the HFD group displayed a BMI of 3.7 kg/m. Histopathological examination of liver and adipose tissue, using H&E and Oil Red staining, confirmed these findings, by showing diminished fat deposition in probiotic-treated groups. Immunoblotting analysis of obesity-associated markers indicated changes in proteins expression levels of obesity associated markers such as leptin, adiponectin, and PPAR-γ in adipose tissue, and LDLR, PCSK9, and SREBP in the liver. Collectively, these results emphasize the enhanced efficacy of L. plantarum MCC5231-incorporated carrot nectar in regulating lipid metabolism and mitigating fat accumulation in HFD-induced obese mice.