BACKGROUND

Obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. (BL), a common member of the human gut microbiota, has important health benefits through several mechanisms.

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the BL supplementation effects on body metabolism and renin-angiotensin components hepatic expression in mice fed a high-fat diet.

METHODS

Thirty-two male mice were divided into four groups: standard diet + placebo (ST), standard diet + (ST + BL), high-fat diet + placebo (HFD) and high-fat diet + (HFD + BL). Following the obesity induction period, the ST + BL and HFD + BL groups were supplemented with for 4 weeks. Then, body, biochemical, histological and molecular parameters were evaluated.

RESULTS

HFD + BL mice had a significant decrease in adipose tissue mass and blood glucose levels, as well as a significant reduction in blood glucose during an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test. The treatment also resulted in reduced levels of total cholesterol and hepatic fat accumulation. Moreover, we observed an increase in angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and Mas receptor (MASR) expression levels in BL-treated obese mice.

CONCLUSIONS

These data demonstrate that BL may have the potential to prevent obesity and NAFLD by modulating the mRNA expression of renin-angiotensin system components.