Abstract:
Obesity is a disorder that affects numerous lives worldwide. Recent researches link the use of probiotics in managing obesity to look for natural and safe alternatives for treatment and prevention. Lactobacillus pentosus 3G3 is a probiotic bacteria with “cholesterol-reducing ability” (Parungao et al., 2009) and the potential as a “means of natural management of obesity” (Canlas and De Dios, 2009). This study aimed to determine the effects of locally formulated LP - 3G3 chocolate drink on body weight, fecal fat excretion, and intra-abdominal adipose tissue weight of diet-induced obese mice (Mus musculus L.). A live culture of Lactobacillus pentosus 3G3 (LP-3G3) was inoculated in a chocolate drink and incubated to contain at least 106 to 107 cfu/mL. Mice underwent a pre - treatment period to induce obesity (15% increase in body weight) through administration of a high fat diet consisting of 30 g rabbit pellets and 5 ml of condensed milk daily. During the treatment period, (1) ml of LP-3G3 chocolate was administered to both obese and non-obese mice through oral gavage. Orlistat (Xenical®) was only administered to obese mice and to serve as the positive control while the negative control group received no treatment. Results showed that LP-3G3 group and Orlistat induced a degree of weight loss that is statistically significant from the Control group. LP-3G3 exhibited a higher degree of weight loss with a 9.14% decrease while Orlistat had lost 7.95%. In terms of the percent fat excreted, all treatments produced the same effects and are not statistically significant. The Control excreted the most fat at 0.66%, followed by Orlistat at 0.55% and LP-3G3 with 0.44%. Both Orlistat and LP-3G3 exhibited lower adipose tissue weights (0.68 g and 0.52 g, respectively) but only the Orlistat was statistically significant from the Control. Results suggest that while LP-3G3 can lower both body weight and the amount of body fat in the abdominal area, the effects cannot be observed in the amount of fat excreted in the feces whereas Orlistat excretes fat in the feces like its known mechanism suggests. In conclusion, LP-3G3 inoculated in chocolate drink is effective in lowering body weight gain and intra-abdominal adipose tissue weight, which may be a potential functional food for managing obesity.
