The effects of
allulose and two probiotic species on diet-induced obese (DIO) mice were investigated. Lactobacillus sakei LS03 (10⁸ cfu/day) and Leuconostoc kimchii GJ2 (10⁸ cfu/day) were used as probiotics, and
allulose (AL) as a
prebiotic. The synergistic effect of
prebiotics and probiotics in improving
obesity was evaluated. Orally fed Lactobacillus sakei LS03 (LS) or Leuconostoc kimchii GJ2 (GJ), significantly decreased hepatic
triglyceride (TG) and
fatty acid (FA) compared to the high-fat diet (HFD) control. AL markedly decreased visceral adiposity and pro-inflammatory
adipokines (
leptin and
resistin) and
cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1β) as well as hepatic TG and FA. In addition, AL exerted synergic effects with probiotics (LS and/or GJ) on the reduction of visceral white adipose tissue (WAT), associated with a decreased
leptin:
adiponectin ratio. There was no significant differences between the AL-SL and AL group,
allulose and GJ combination (AL-GJ) was more effective than
allulose in improving
dyslipidemia, and decreasing WAT weight and hepatic FA, suggesting
allulose may act as a favorable
prebiotic for GJ supplement than LS. Combination of
allulose with LS and GJ supplementation (AL-LSGJ) was the most effective for improving
obesity related complications among the synbiotics groups containing
allulose. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the synbiotic mixture with
allulose was more effective in suppressing diet-induced obese (DIO) and its complications via the regulation of lipid metabolism, than the probiotics or
allulose alone, suggesting
allulose may act as a
prebiotic for the two probiotics tested in the study. This new synbiotic mixture with
allulose may help ameliorate the deleterious effects of diet-induced
obesity and contribute to the growth of the food industry.