Fermented milk and adipose visceral tissue - possible slimming effects in obese and patients with metabolic syndrome

The gastrointestinal tract of humans is rich in microorganisms which can both be beneficial to host health, preventing and / or treating lactose intolerance, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, among others, as they can harm, affecting nutrient acquisition and the production of inflammatory mediators. These distinctive roles of intestinal microbiota are so striking that can even influence the development of obesity in some people and may even lead to metabolic syndrome. Probiotics and prebiotics can confer alterations in the microbiota properties, affecting the bacteria growth and their metabolism, and the use of nutrients. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the use of innovative symbiotic fermented milk in obesity and metabolic syndrome indicators such as waist circumference, TGL, HDL-C, blood glucose and blood pressure in patients with a predisposition to this disease, selected according to the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. For this, four fermented mik were designed, three of them inoculated with a commercial probiotic culture - Bifidobacterium lactis (BL420), added or not by passion fruit peel powder (prebiotic), one of them being prepared with an emulsion of vegetable oil, which has effect on prolonguing satiety; and the fourth product, fermented only with the classical culture Streptococcus thermophilus. Products´ technological properties were evaluated - physico chemical, sensory, microstructure, microbiology, and functional aspects were studied. Finally products were tested in consumers throughout a clinical trial during 12 weeks, period in which the volunteers had to consume 100 mL of the product twice a day, every day. The evaluation of the volunteers was done before the start of the test and also at the end of the 90 days