Obesity-related diabetes is a major global health problem linked to serious complications, including heart disease. Working in mice, researchers have now found that high-sugar diets cause obesity and gut inflammation regardless, but specific probiotics such as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum dfa1 can help reduce these harmful effects by improving gut health and lowering inflammation.  

The findings, published in Scientific Reports, suggest that probiotics protect against obesity and inflammation caused by high sugar intake, supporting their use as a preventive strategy for obesity-related diabetes.

High-sugar diets are known to contribute to a condition known as metabolic syndrome, which can lead to diabetes. An imbalance in gut microbes can contribute to metabolic syndrome by disrupting the gut barrier and increasing inflammation.  Previous research suggests that fruit fibers help support beneficial gut bacteria, and probiotics such as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum dfa1 can reduce inflammation and protect the gut.

Researchers led by Thunnicha Ondee at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, tested whether combining this probiotic with fiber-rich food could reduce the harmful effects of high-sugar diets.

Protecting the gut

The researchers fed mice two types of high-sugar diets: a high-glucose diet and high-carbohydrate biscuit diet. All mice developed signs of metabolic syndrome, obesity, gut damage, and inflammation.

However, when the probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum dfa1 was added to the diets, it helped protect against these problems. Mice receiving Lactiplantibacillus plantarum dfa1 showed healthier blood sugar levels, less gut damage, and lower inflammation. The probiotic improved the balance of gut bacteria, reducing harmful microbes and increasing beneficial ones, including Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Akkermansia.

When the mice were given specific metabolites made by probiotic bacteria, damage to gut and liver cells—which is typically caused by bacterial toxins entering the bloodstream—was also reduced. Overall, probiotics appear to help protect both gut and liver cells from the harmful effects of high sugar and bacterial toxins, the researchers say.

Probiotic use

Both the high-glucose diet and the high-carbohydrate biscuit diet caused similar levels of obesity and metabolic syndrome in mice, even though the diets had different amounts of carbs, protein, and fat. 

The fruit fiber in the high-carbohydrate biscuit diet changed gut bacteria more than the high-glucose diet, increasing some types of microbes that help digest plant fiber. However, the fruit fiber didn’t seem to reduce obesity or metabolic syndrome. 

This result suggests that while fiber can improve gut bacteria, the harmful effects of high sugar on gut health outweigh those benefits. However, adding probiotics can help counteract these negative effects, the authors say. “Hence, we encourage the use of probiotics for the prevention of carbohydrate-induced obesity.”