Abstract
Sichuan pickle is a traditional fermented food in China which is produced by the spontaneous fermentation of Chinese cabbage. In this study, the anti-obesity effects of a new lactic acid bacterium (Lactobacillus fermentum CQPC05, LF-CQPC05) isolated from Sichuan pickles were assessed in vivo. An obese animal model was established in mice by inducing obesity with high-fat diet. Both serum and tissues were collected from the mice, and then subjected to qPCR and Western blot analyses. The results showed that LF-CQPC05 could decrease the values of hepatosomatic, epididymal fat, and perirenal fat indices that were induced by a high-fat diet in mice. Moreover, LF-CQPC05 reduced the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and increased the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in both serum samples and liver tissues of obese mice fed with a high-fat diet. Pathological observations demonstrated that LF-CQPC05 could alleviate the obesity-induced pathological changes in the liver tissue of mice, and reduce the degree of adipocyte enlargement. The results of qPCR and Western blot analyses further indicated that LF-CQPC05 upregulated the mRNA and protein expression levels of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), PPAR-α: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α), (cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase) CYP7A1, and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1A), and downregulated the expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ) and CCAAT enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBP-α) in both liver tissue and epididymal adipose tissue. Taken altogether, this study reveals that LF-CQPC05 can effectively inhibit high-fat diet-induced obesity. Its anti-obesity effect is comparable to that of l-carnitine, and is superior to that of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, a common strain used in the dairy industry. Therefore, LF-CQPC05 is a high-quality microbial strain with probiotic potential.
Highlights
Traditional Sichuan pickle is produced mainly through lactic acid fermentation, along with acetic acid fermentation and ethanol fermentation, by soaking the vegetables with a specific concentration of salt water
The body weights of mice in l-carnitine, LF-CQPC05, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (LDSB) groups were lower than those in model group
The body weight of mice in LF-CQPC05 group was decreased compared to l-carnitine group and LDSB group
Summary
Traditional Sichuan pickle is produced mainly through lactic acid fermentation, along with acetic acid fermentation and ethanol fermentation, by soaking the vegetables with a specific concentration of salt water. The fermentation process is carried out in a high concentration of salt (5–10%) by beneficial microorganisms (mainly lactic acid bacteria) that are naturally attached to the surface of vegetables. Lactic acid bacteria can grow and produce acidic substances by utilizing sugar and nitrogen-containing substances, and generate flavor components to enhance the flavors of pickles. Previous studies have shown that lactic acid bacteria isolated from fermented foods, such as pickles, exhibit a variety of health benefits, such as preventing constipation, colitis, liver damage, and diabetes, and can be considered as probiotics [3,4]. The functions of Lactobacillus that have been identified, for example, include the antioxidant role of Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus coryniformis [5], and the anti-constipation role of Lactobacillus plantarum YS4 in mice [6]
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