Application

Bacterial strain from Lactococcus lactis as a potential dietary supplement or therapeutic to help weight control and control gut inflammation.

Key Benefits

• Provides anti-inflammatory effects in the intestine.
• Improves weight control and protects against fatty liver disease in mice fed a high fat and high sugar Western-style diet.
• This bacteria is a better probiotic than current #1 and best-selling clinically studied probiotic.

Market Summary

Probiotics are defined as "viable microorganisms and have been shown to confer health benefits, including weight control, to the host." Many probiotics are marketed with claims that they can help with weight controlling weight gain and regulate cholesterol levels, but lack robust scientific data to support this claim. Other potential benefits of probiotics include reducing gut inflammation, which are hallmarks of conditions like Crohn’s disease and Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Technical Summary

Emory researchers have discovered that a specific strain of Lactococcus lactis (which is typically used in cheese production), when fed as a dietary supplement, significantly reduces weight gain and lowers cholesterol levels in mice fed a high sugar (fructose) and high fat Western-style diet. Daily dietary supplementation with Lactococcus lactis over 10 weeks to mice on a high sugar and high fat diet decreases weight gain rates, reduces cholesterol levels, and reduces liver fat accumulation compared to control mice. The researchers found that dietary supplementation with this strain of Lactococcus lactis induced the upregulation of genes in the liver that function in several metabolic pathways, as well as genes involved in cytoprotection and in the control of inflammation. In addition, this strain of Lactococcus lactis has anti-inflammatory effects in the intestine. Dietary supplementation of Lactococcus lactis reduced inflammation, and lowered disease activity index in a mouse model of inflammatory colitis. Dietary supplementation accelerated recovery rates during restitution after inflammatory colitis. This specific strain of Lactococcus lactis may be used as a therapeutic modality to help weight control and control gut inflammation.

Developmental Stage

Probiotic formulation has been tested and analyzed at pre-clinical stage in vivo in mice model.

Publication

Darby, T.M. et al. (2019). iScience. 12, 356-367.
Naudin, C. et al. (2020). Gastroenterology.

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