Lactobacillus Paracasei NFRI 7415 Reduces Liver Lipid Contents in C57BL/6J Mice Fed a High-fat Diet

We examined the effects of Lactobacillus paracasei NFRI 7415 isolated from Japanese fermented fish (funa-sushi) on the whole-body and fat-tissue weights, plasma lipid concentration and hepatic lipid contents of mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a control diet (CD), high-fat diet (HD) or HD containing Lb. paracasei NFRI 7415 (106 cfu/g) (HLD) for 10 weeks. The plasma triacylglycerol concentration of the HLD group was lower than that of the HD group. The plasma glucose, leptin and hepatic lipid concentration of the CD and LHD groups were lower than those of the HD group. As a result of measuring the liver lipids and the liver histology, it was observed that the number of lipid droplets in liver cells in the HD group was clearly greater than that in the CD and HLD groups. The total liver lipids in the CD and HLD group were lower than that of the HD group. This suggests that intake of Lb. paracasei NFRI 7415 is effective in overcoming the effects of HD to prevent hepatic lipid accumulation.