The effect of supplementation with a multi-species synbiotic on serum lipid profile, abundance of beneficial gut bacteria and firmicutes to bacteroidetes ratio in patients with dyslipidemia; a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial

Background

Dysbiosis an imbalance of gut microbiota (GM) may contribute to the development of metabolic disorders including dyslipidemia. Synbiotics have been suggested to modulate GM composition and in turn, they may alter lipid metabolism. We aimed to evaluate the effects of synbiotic supplementation on serum lipid profile, abundance of dominant gut bacteria, and also the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio in adults with dyslipidemia.

Methods

Fifty-six adults with dyslipidemia were enrolled in a randomized, clinical trial. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either synbiotic or placebo sachets for 12 weeks. Each synbiotic sachet contains (a total dose of 3 ×10¹⁰ colony forming units, CFU/gram) six species of probiotic microorganisms with 5-gram inulin and fructooligosaccharide (FOS) in equal amounts as prebiotics. Serum lipid profile, fecal bacteria abundance, dietary intake, physical activity level (PAL), and anthropometric measures, were assessed at the baseline and after intervention.

Results

No significant changes were observed in participants' dietary intake, PA, and anthropometric indices within and between groups after 12 weeks of intervention. High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) showed a significant increase (p = 0.0008), while no significant change in other lipid profile components was observed. The abundance of fecal Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium was significantly increased in the synbiotic group (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, and p = 0.032 respectively). However, 12 weeks of synbiotic supplementation didn’t affect F/B Ratio (p = 0.43) at the end of the study.

Conclusions

Twelve weeks of supplementation with multi-species synbiotic may improve HDL-C and enhance the abundance of beneficial gut bacteria in patients with dyslipidemia.