AUTHOR=Chen Cailing , Gao Kan , Chen Zuoguo , Zhang Qiwen , Ke Xueqin , Mao Bingyong , Fan Qiuling , Li Yanjun , Chen Su 

TITLE=The supplementation of the multi-strain probiotics WHHPRO™ alleviates high-fat diet-induced metabolic symptoms in rats via gut-liver axis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1324691

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2023.1324691

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=Metabolic syndrome (MS) has emerged as one of the major global health concerns, accompanied by a series of related complications, such as obesity and type-2 diabetes. The gut-liver axis (GLA) is a bidirectional communication between the gut and the liver. The GLA alterations have been revealed to be closely associated with the development of MS. Probiotics within Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium confer beneficial effects on improving MS symptoms. WHHPRO TM is a mixture of four probiotic strains, with potential MS-improving abilities. This study aimed to investigate the effects of WHHPRO TM on MS symptoms using a high-fat diet (HFD) rat model. Oral administration of WHHPRO TM for 12 weeks improved glucose tolerance, blood lipid, body weight, and liver index in HFD rats. WHHPRO TM shaped the gut microbiome composition by increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus and Akkermansia and normalized the reduced SCFA levels in HFD rats. Besides, WHHPRO TM modulated the fecal bile acids (BAs) profile, with decreased levels of T-b-MCA and 12-KDCA and increased levels of LCA and ILCA. Meanwhile, WHHPRO TM increased total unconjugated BAs in feces and liver and reduced the accumulation of total hepatic BA pool size in HFD rats. Moreover, WHHPRO TM reversed the expression of genes associated with impaired BA metabolism signaling in the ileum and liver. Our findings suggest that WHHPRO TM exerted beneficial effects on improving MS symptoms, involving the modulation of the gut microbiome composition, SCFAs, and the FXR-FGF15 signaling along the GLA. Supplementation of WHHPRO TM may serve as a novel strategy for improving MS symptoms.