Fermented soy-powder milk with Lactobacillus plantarum P1201 protects against high-fat diet-induced obesity

Summary Fermented soy-powder milk (FSPM) with Lactobacillus plantarum P1201 contains more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and isoflavone aglycones compared with unfermented soy-powder milk (UFSPM). In this study, the antiobesity effect of FSPM was investigated in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity model. Results showed that FSPM reduced the weight of body, body weight gain, liver and mesenteric white adipose tissue by 10.7%, 17.7%, 32.8% and 24.1%, respectively, compared with the HFD group. Meanwhile, FSPM suppressed the HFD-induced increase of serum parameters such as total and low-density lipoprotein, cholesterol, alanine transaminase, glucose and c-peptide. To investigate how FSPM ameliorated obesity, several lipid metabolism and inflammation-related genes in liver were analysed. FSPM significantly ameliorated HFD-induced hepatic steatosis by down-regulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, lipoprotein lipase, fatty acid synthase, acetyl CoA carboxylase, adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein, tumour necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta. Our results showed FSPM can protect against HFD-induced obesity.