Dietary supplementation of Lactobacillus brevis SAD ameliorates high-fat diet-induced hyperglycemia and associated metabolic issues in Swiss albino mice

This study is aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of a strain of Lactobacillus brevis (SAD) isolated from an ethnic fermented food consumed regularly by the native people of Darjeeling Himalayan region. Effects of regular consumption of this lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in ameliorating the pathophysiological conditions associated with hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and obesity is studied in mice having induced obesity by high-fat diet (HFD). Key objectives included evaluating the strain’s impact on glycemic parameters, lipid profiles, colonic oxidative stress, inflammation, and gut integrity while assessing the metagenomic composition. For this study, male Swiss albino mice were grouped into Normal Diet (ND), HFD, and L. brevis SAD supplemented (LB) groups. It was found that, L. brevis SAD supplementation significantly improved glycemic parameters, insulin sensitivity, at the same time reduced glycation. It also mitigated obesity-related effects, such as weight gain, organ enlargement, and adverse lipid profiles. Moreover, the HFD group exhibited pronounced deterioration in gut integrity, evidenced by alterations in colonic histomorphology, concurrent with the development of obesity and hyperglycemia. In LB group gut integrity appeared to be restored in the histological study. Metagenomic analysis demonstrated the strain’s potential to modulate the gut microbial composition towards health promoting groups. This study demonstrates the therapeutic potential of L. brevis SAD in mitigating the adverse metabolic effects induced by HFD.