A recently published study by the University College Cork suggests that Bifidobacterium longum APC1472 could be a vital regulator of appetite and metabolism.
In the study, released in eBioMedicine, healthy and obese participants were evaluated to identify what effects the bacterial strain would have among them.
The bacterial strain purportedly stabilized their blood glucose levels, while also normalizing active levels of ghrelin and cortisol, both associated with obesity. A considerable reduction of weight gain was observed among a number of rodents experimented on during research.
The findings demonstrate the significance of the novel bacterial strain and its potential to be used as a probiotic supplement for patients at risk or who have developed health conditions like type 2 diabetes.
“This study is the first of its kind demonstrating the translation of a Bifidobacterium longum species, B. longum APC1472, from initial laboratory studies through pre-clinical studies to a human intervention study,” said lead author Harriet Schellekens in a news release of the findings.
“This study shows that B. longum APC1472 has potential to be developed as a valuable probiotic supplement to reduce blood glucose, which is important in the development of conditions such as type 2 diabetes.”
“This study was a real team effort and delivers important translational evidence that probiotic supplementation can indeed be useful in the fight against obesity,” added another co-author in the news release.