Probiotics Fuel CLA Growth

CARLOW, IrelandGenetically engineered probiotics stimulated the growth of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which may help reduce obesity, according to a new study from Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority in Ireland (Microbiology 2010. DOI 10.1099/mic.0.043406-0).

Researchers from Teagasc and the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre previously created a metabolically active Bifidobacterium breve strain, with ability to form cis-9, trans-11 CLA, which resulted in modulation of the fatty acid composition of the host when administered orally, including significantly elevated concentrations of cis-9, trans 11 CLA (one of the isomers common to CLA) and omega-3 fatty acids in liver and adipose tissue.

In this study, they used Propionibacterium acnes shown to express trans 10, cis-12 CLA (another isomer common in CLA, which has been shown to reduce fat tissue) in lactobacillus. They fed mice linoleic-acid-supplemented diets (2%, w/w) in combination with either a recombinant t10, c12 CLA-producing Lactobacillus paracasei NFBC 338 (Lb338), or an isogenic (vector-containing) control strain for eight weeks. A third group of mice received linoleic acid alone (2%, w/w).

Ingestion of the strain expressing CLA isomerase was associated with a four-fold increase (P<0.001) in t10, c12 CLA in adipose tissues of the mice when compared with mice that received the isogenic non-CLA-producing strain. The livers of the mice that received the recombinant CLA-producing Lb338 also contained a 2.5-fold (albeit not significantly) higher concentration of t10, c12 CLA, compared to the control group.