<i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> KFY04 prevents obesity in mice through the PPAR pathway and alleviates oxidative damage and inflammation

In this study, lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum KFY04, was isolated from Xinjiang yogurt, and it was used to intervene in obese mice maintained on a 45% fat diet, and we compared its effects to those of a commercial strain, LDSB, and l-carnitine. The results showed that the LP-KFY04 intervention mice gained weight more slowly and had lower liver, epididymal adipose, and perirenal adipose tissue indices when compared to the other high-fat groups. Moreover, the LP-KFY04 can reduce the formation of fat vacuoles in the liver, while also reducing adipocyte differentiation and volume, and LP-KFY04 groups had the lowest liver and serum AST, ALT, TG, and TC levels and lowest serum LDL-C and highest HDL-C levels among the groups maintained on a high-fat diet. LP-KFY04 was also shown to mitigate obesity-associated oxidative damage and inflammatory responses. Additionally, quantitative real-time PCR and western blot analysis examining liver and adipose tissue expression of PPAR-α, CYP7A1, CPT1, and LPL showed an increased expression in the LP-KFY04 groups while decreased expression levels of PPAR-γ and C/EBPα relative to the other high-fat diet groups. These results show that of the different interventions, LP-KFY04 was the most effective at mitigating the effects of obesity than LDSB and l-carnitine. The results confirmed that LP-KEY04 has better anti-obesity, anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory effects than current fermentation strains. It indicates LP-KFY04 is a fermentation strain with potential practical value and high functionality, and it shows that a fermentation strain should not only have good fermentation performance, but, more importantly, it must provide more functionality on the basis of fermentation.