SYMBIOTIC POTENTIAL OF FERMENTED BUTTERMILK-BASED DRINKS WITH LACTOBACILLUS GASSERI AND CURCUMIN IN AN ANIMAL MODEL INDUCED TO EXCESS WEIGHT WITH A HIGH FAT DIET

Climate change, shifts in global dietary patterns, and the increasing prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases necessitate strategies that contribute to health and have a low environmental impact. Buttermilk, a by-product of the dairy industry, has high nutritional value but remains underutilized. Its fermentation allows to produce foods with probiotics and postbiotics, which can contribute to improving the intestinal microbiota. The addition of curcumin, a bioactive compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, can enhance the product's functional benefits. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of buttermilk-based beverages supplemented with Lactobacillus gasseri LG08, curcumin, or a combination of both in overweight mice. Forty C57BL/6J mice received a high-fat diet (45% fat) for 12 weeks. They were then divided into 5 groups and received a standard diet to promote caloric restriction and 0.2 mL, via gavage, of pasteurized buttermilk (BM); fermented buttermilk (FBM); buttermilk with curcumin (CUR), curcumin-fermented buttermilk (FCUR), or water (CT), for 6 weeks. At the end of the intervention, the animals were weighed and feces were collected to assess short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and metataxonomy. Data were compared by Mann-Whitney, comparing each experimental group with the control (CT). All groups lost weight, but none differed from the control. Thus, weight loss was not enhanced by the evaluated beverages, being caused by caloric restriction. There was greater acetic acid production compared to the control (0.078 ± 0.015 mg/mg of feces) in the groups that received CUR (0.137 ± 0.040 mg/mg of feces) and FCUR (0.141 ± 0.030 mg/mg of feces). Propionic acid was higher in the CUR group (0.04 ± 0.0) compared to the control (0.02 ± 0.01). There was no difference in relation to butyric acid. The Shannon and Simpson alpha diversity indices showed no differences in abundance and equitability, as well as Chao1, representing the richness of the samples. PERMANOVA analysis by Bray-Curtis distance also showed no difference between the groups. We observed a higher abundance of Ruminococcus in the CT group compared to BM, FBM, and FCUR. Consumption of high-fat diets promotes a reduction in this genus and is associated with dysbiosis. We observed a higher abundance of the genera Anaerotruncus, [Eubacterium] brachy group, and Massiliomicrobiota in FCUR compared to CT. These genera are associated with SCFA production, corroborating our results. The combination of buttermilk, curcumin, and Lactobacillus gasseri appears to have a more positive effect on microbiota modulation.