UCLA researchers in the Department of Medicine, Vatche and Tamar Manoukin Division of Digestive Diseases have developed a novel probiotic blend composed of two gut bacteria strains. This blend has the potential to be a safe supplement for treating food addiction, obesity, cognition, and other associated metabolic diseases in humans.
BACKGROUND: Obesity is a complex disorder influenced by a range of elements including environmental, socioeconomic, and genetic factors, as well as personal lifestyle choices like a diet high in calories but low in nutrients. Despite advances in pharmaceutical treatments and dietary recommendations, the global prevalence of obesity continues to climb, often accompanied by food addiction (FA) and cognitive difficulties, and various metabolic disorders such as diabetes and heart disease. Studies have suggested that the gut microbiome and its crosstalk with brain regions of the brain’s reward network is associated with FA. Consequently, adjusting the gut microbiome through dietary changes, probiotics, and prebiotics is a promising and safe strategy to manage obesity and improve metabolic and cognitive health. There is a critical need to develop nutritional supplements with safe and effective compositions that facilitate weight loss and improve associated metabolic and cognitive conditions.
INNOVATION: UCLA researchers have identified two specific gut bacteria that influence food metabolism, and are statistically associated with FA, cravings, cognition, and addiction centers of the brain. Based on fecal studies and literature search, this novel blend of bacteria should modulate key regions of the extended reward network linked to FA, cravings, cognition, and obesity. The technology harnesses these bacteria in a novel probiotic blend to improve weight management and reduce FA, cravings, and cognition in obese individuals, offering a new therapeutic approach for treating obesity and associated metabolic diseases.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
- Treatment for obesity
- Treatment for FA, cravings, and cognition
- Gut microbiota modulation
ADVANTAGES:
- Utilizes two bacterial strains associated with obesity and FA.
- The bacteria are safe supplements for humans as they are naturally present in the normal gastrointestinal tract.
DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:
Probiotic blend established with clinical trial underway randomized placebo control trial with two treatment arms with varying doses of a probiotic blend of these two bacteria
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Related papers:
1. An, E., Delgadillo, D.R., Yang, J. et al. Stress-resilience impacts psychological wellbeing as evidenced by brain–gut microbiome interactions. Nat. Mental Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00266-6
2. Zhang, X., Bhatt, R. R., Todorov, S., & Gupta, A. (2023). Brain-gut microbiome profile of neuroticism predicts food addiction in obesity: A transdiagnostic approach. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 125, 110768.
3. Osadchiy, V., Bal, R., Mayer, E.A. et al. Machine learning model to predict obesity using gut metabolite and brain microstructure data. Sci Rep 13, 5488 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32713-2
4. Dong, T. S., Guan, M., Mayer, E. A., Stains, J., Liu, C., Vora, P., … Gupta, A. (2022). Obesity is associated with a distinct brain-gut microbiome signature that connects Prevotella and Bacteroides to the brain’s reward center. Gut Microbes, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2022.2051999
Keywords: Brain-gut microbiome, probiotics, bacterial strain, nutritional supplement, food addiction, obesity, food metabolism, metabolic disease, brain’s reward system, mental health, FA