The Effect of Short-Term Consumption of Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Gut Microbiota in Obese People

Obesity is a problem of modern health care that causes the occurrence of many concomitant diseases: arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular diseases. New strategies for the treatment and prevention of obesity are being developed that are based on using probiotics for modulation of the gut microbiota. Our study aimed to evaluate the bacterial composition of the gut of obese patients before and after two weeks of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Limosilactobacillus fermentum, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii) intake. The results obtained showed an increase in the number of members of the phylum Actinobacteriota in the group taking nutritional supplements, while the number of phylum Bacteroidota decreased in comparison with the control group. There has also been an increase in potentially beneficial groups: Bifidobacterium, Blautia, Eubacterium, Anaerostipes, Lactococcus, Lachnospiraceae ND3007, Streptococcus, Escherichia-Shigella, and Lachnoclostridium. Along with this, a decrease in the genera was demonstrated: Faecalibacterium, Pseudobutyrivibrio, Subdoligranulum, Faecalibacterium, Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and 2, Catenibacterium, Megasphaera, Phascolarctobacterium, and the Oscillospiraceae NK4A214 group, which contribute to the development of various metabolic disorders. Modulation of the gut microbiota by lactic acid bacteria may be one of the ways to treat obesity.