The F3-2 probiotic regimen for weight management curtails fat production at its source.

According to the 2020 Report on Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of Chinese Residents, China leads globally with 600 million individuals grappling with overweight and obesity. Adult overweight rates stand at 34.3%, with obesity at 16.4%. Alarmingly, nearly 20% of children and adolescents aged 6-17 are affected, and 10% of those under 6.

Over the past three decades, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has surged across all age groups, nearly tripling.

This widespread "fat acceleration" necessitates an examination of causative factors. A Lancet study analyzing lifestyle changes in China from 1982 to 2012 may offer insights.

The escalating obesity epidemic underscores a critical shift in public health. The demand for fat reduction and body contouring has become a key health objective.

Adipose tissue, comprised of adipocytes, functions as a "production facility," with fat as the "finished goods." Effective fat reduction strategies include either 1) fat breakdown, or 2) reducing the efficiency of fat generation. This aligns with "fat burning" through metabolic pathways, involving "enhancing lipase activity" and "reducing lipid accumulation."

Unlike exogenous interventions, such as "blockers" or "satiety agents," modulating the gut microbiota offers a promising micro-mechanism for fat reduction. The established links between gut microbiota and obesity, the compositional differences between obese and non-obese individuals, and the association between leptin resistance and gut microbiota support this approach.

The experimental groups were defined as follows: a low-fat diet control group (NC), a high-fat diet control group (HFD), an orlistat positive control group (OR), and a Lactobacillus plantarum F3-2 intervention group (F3-2).

The results indicate that after a 12-week intervention, the weight gain in mice treated with Lactobacillus plantarum F3-2 was significantly lower than that of the high-fat diet group. The efficacy was comparable to that of Orlistat, the only over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss medication approved by the U.S. FDA, the EU EMA, and China's NMPA.

The epididymal adipose tissue, classified as a type of white adipose tissue, is of particular interest. In humans, white adipose tissue is predominantly found in the abdominal region, a characteristic often associated with individuals exhibiting an "abdominal obesity" phenotype.

Furthermore, experimental findings indicate that F3-2 effectively reduces serum triglycerides and total cholesterol levels. Compared to the high-fat diet group, these reductions were 42.14% and 41.41% respectively (p<0.05). Notably, F3-2 also demonstrated a significant inhibitory effect on liver weight gain, with no statistically significant difference observed when compared to the positive control group treated with orlistat (p>0.05).

Through the analysis of key lipid metabolism factors and the levels of major short-chain fatty acids in the adipose tissue of the experimental group, we further validated the regulatory mechanism of F3-2.

F3-2 intervention notably upregulated GPR43 gene expression (p<0.05) compared to the high-fat group, while PPARγ expression was significantly reduced, mirroring the effects of orlistat (p<0.05). Adipogenesis, regulated by genetic factors and influenced by signals from preadipocytes and the endocrine system, sees PPARγ as a key marker. F3-2 increases SCFAs, particularly acetate, activating GPR43 and inhibiting PPARγ, thereby modulating adipocyte lipid metabolism. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum F3-2 enhances body fat metabolism by activating GPR43 to accelerate lipid metabolism and inhibiting PPARγ to slow down lipid accumulation.