Anti-obesity activity activity of Lactobacillus fermented soy milk products

The anti-obesity activity of Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101 and Lactobacillus plantarum NTU 102 and their soy milk fermented products (SM101 and SM102) were investigated. Results indicated that the inhibition of 3T3-L1 differentiation and the accumulation of free fatty acids markedly increased in rats treated with SM101 and SM102. Moreover, the up-regulation and down-regulation of lipolysis and heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase, respectively, were observed in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes of the SM101 and SM101 groups, and these effects of SM101 and SM102 were greater than unfermented soy milk (USM). We also found that SM101 and SM102 both improved obesity in Wistar rats fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) and that this improvement was stronger than that observed for USM. The level of serum leptin in HFD-induced rats was significantly elevated by the 5-week administration of SM101 and SM102 (10(6)-10(10) CFU/mL per rat per day); however, this activity was not promoted by USM. The anti-obesity activity of SM101 and SM102 may result from the increased daidzein and genistein levels that were observed during the fermentation by L. paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101 and L. plantarum NTU 102. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.