Prebiotic Oligofructose Prevents Antibiotic‐Induced Obesity Risk and Improves Metabolic and Gut Microbiota Profiles in Rat Dams and Offspring

Abstract

ScopeAntibiotics in early life disrupt microbiota and increase obesity risk. Dietary agents such as prebiotics may reduce obesity risk. The authors examine how antibiotics administered with/without prebiotic oligofructose, alter metabolic and microbial outcomes in pregnant rats and their offspring.Methods and ResultsPregnant rats are randomized to: 1) Control, 2) Antibiotic (ABT), 3) Prebiotic (PRE), 4) Antibiotic+Prebiotic (ABT+PRE) during the 3rd week of pregnancy and lactation. Offspring were fed a high fat/high sucrose (HFS) diet from 9–17 weeks of age to unmask obesity risk. ABT dams had higher body weight, body fat and leptin during lactation than all other groups. Prebiotics attenuate these outcomes and increase cecal Bifidobacterium. ABT offspring have higher body weight, fat mass, and liver triglycerides after HFS diet, with a stronger phenotype in males; prebiotics attenuate these. At weaning, male ABT offspring have lower Lactobacillus while PRE and ABT+PRE offspring had higher Bifidobacterium and Collinsella. Fecal microbiota transfer of adult offspring cecal matter could not reliably transfer the obese ABT phenotype.ConclusionsAntibiotic use during pregnancy/lactation increases adiposity and impairs post‐partum weight loss in dams. Co‐administering prebiotics with antibiotics in rat dams prevented obesity risk in offspring and is associated with altered gut microbiota.

Effects and Mechanisms of Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics, and Postbiotics on Metabolic Diseases Targeting Gut Microbiota: A Narrative Review

“…Inulin was a common prebiotic, and the in vivo studies showed that the intake of inulin oligofructose improved obesity, glycemic dysregulations, and the blood-brain-barrier integrity, with decreasing the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio while increasing Bifidobacterium abundance [ 58 , 59 ]. Additionally, the pregnant rats which received oligofructose had a lower obesity risk in their offspring, with higher abundances of Bifidobacterium and Collinsella [ 60 ]. Besides, fucoidan polysaccharides could improve gut microbial diversity with increasing the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria , enhancing the bile salt hydrolase activity of Lactobacillus casei DM8121, as well as upregulating the expression of hepatic cholesterol 7-α hydroxylase, while the abundances of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were decreased [ 61 , 62 ].…”

Supplemental Aspergillus Lipase and Protease Preparations Display Powerful Bifidogenic Effects and Modulate the Gut Microbiota Community of Rats

“…There is accumulating evidence that treatment with inulin and oligosaccharides increases the abundances of Collinsella and Bifidobacterium in the guts of rats [21]. In this study, treatment with AL and AP increased the levels of Collinsella, showing that AL and AP are similar to prebiotic oligosaccharides concerning their effect on Collinsella.…”

Contractility of permeabilized rat vastus intermedius muscle fibres following high-fat, high-sucrose diet consumption

“…Body mass, fat mass, percent body fat, and bone mineral content plus lean mass were determined for each animal at the endpoint of diets using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and analyzed with software for small animal analysis (Hologic QDR 4500; Hologic, Bedford, MA). These procedures and data from these same animals have been reported previously (Boldt et al 2020a(Boldt et al , 2020bCollins et al 2015Collins et al , 2016aCollins et al , 2016bCollins et al 2016c;Klancic et al 2020Klancic et al , 2021Rios et al 2020), but data are re-reported to reflect the specific animals used in assessments of single fibres.…”