Abstract:
Obesity, a condition of abnormal or excessive fat accumulation, is one of the fastest growing health concerns in the world today. This study examined if oral administration of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolate 3G3 had a significant effect on lipid absorption and body weight in diet-induced obese female Swiss mice, and had comparable effects with the commercially-available anti-obesity drug Orlistat (Xenical®). In order to induce obesity, mice were administered with a high-fat diet for 49 days, preceded by a 7-day acclimation period. Obesity was confirmed by a 29.13% increase from the mean initial body weight at the end of the pretreatment period. LAB 3G3 (0.05% at 50 ml/kg) and Orlistat (12 mg/kg) were orally administered using an oral gavage for 21 days to the LAB and Orlistat groups, respectively. A control group received no treatment. Body weights were measured at the first and last days of treatment to determine the percent body weight gain of each mouse. Proximate analysis of mice feces was done to determine the amount of crude fat. Effect of fat excretion on lipid absorption was not established. The relationship between body weight gain and fat excretion was also not significant, suggesting that fat excretion is independent of body weight. Body weight gain is an established indicator of obesity, and it follows from the lack of relationship between the two parameters that fat excretion could thus not be used as an indicator of obesity. Results showed that oral administration of LAB 3G3 was able to reduce body weight comparable to Orlistat, on the basis of body weight alone.
