Microbial-Based Bioactive Compounds to Alleviate Inflammation in Obesity

Abstract

The increased prevalence of obesity with several other metabolic disorders, including diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, has reached global pandemic proportions. Lifestyle changes may result in a persistent positive energy balance, hastening the onset of these age-related disorders and consequently leading to a diminished lifespan. Although suggestions have been raised on the possible link between obesity and the gut microbiota, progress has been hampered due to the extensive diversity and complexities of the gut microbiota. Being recognized as a potential biomarker owing to its pivotal role in metabolic activities, the dysregulation of the gut microbiota can give rise to a persistent low-grade inflammatory state associated with chronic diseases during aging. This chronic inflammatory state, also known as inflammaging, induced by the chronic activation of the innate immune system via the macrophage, is controlled by the gut microbiota, which links nutrition, metabolism, and the innate immune response. Here, we present the functional roles of prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics as bioactive compounds by underscoring their putative contributions to (1) the reduction in gut hyperpermeability due to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inactivation, (2) increased intestinal barrier function as a consequence of the upregulation of tight junction proteins, and (3) inhibition of proinflammatory pathways, overall leading to the alleviation of chronic inflammation in the management of obesity.

Vertical Transfer of Maternal Gut Microbes to Offspring of Western Diet-Fed Dams Drives Reduced Levels of Tryptophan Metabolites and Postnatal Innate Immune Response

“…Gut commensals, such as Lactobacillus, metabolize dietary tryptophan to produce metabolites capable of modulating the host immune system [77]. Specifically, disruption of gut flora resulting from high-fat diet exposure may influence immune function by altering tryptophan catabolite profiles and subsequent host responses via AHR signaling, linking the gut microbiota with nutrition, metabolism and the innate immune response [78]. For example, Lactobacillus, which is decreased in both conventional and GF weanlings, as well as in adult offspring of dams fed an obesogenic diet [79], metabolizes glucose, which inhibits indole production.…”

Vertical Transfer of Maternal Gut Microbes to Offspring of Western Diet-Fed Dams Drives Reduced Levels of Tryptophan Metabolites and Postnatal Innate Immune Response

“…Gut commensals, such as Lactobacillus , metabolize dietary tryptophan to produce metabolites capable of modulating the host immune system [ 72 ]. Specifically, disruption of gut flora resulting from high-fat diet exposure may influence immune function by altering tryptophan catabolite profiles and subsequent host responses via AHR signaling, linking the gut microbiota with nutrition, metabolism, and the innate immune response [ 73 ]. For example, Lactobacillus , which is decreased in both conventional and GF weanlings, as well as in adult offspring of dams fed an obesogenic diet [ 74 ], metabolizes glucose, which inhibits indole production.…”