The Effect of Short-term Multi-strain Probiotic Supplement (VSL#3) on Markers of Metabolic Health

Abstract

To investigate the effect of short-term multi-strain probiotic supplementation (VSL#3) on markers of metabolic health, we conducted a parallel and randomised control trial on fourteen healthy active adults (age 23.9 ± 3.2 years, BMI 22.25 ± 1.2 kg/m2 ). After the initial screening visit, participants were randomly assigned to either the multi-strain probiotic supplement (VSL#3) or the control (no supplement) groups with 7 participants in each. The participants BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol and HDL–C concentrations were collected at baseline and post-intervention. Following the 4 week intervention period, there was a significant main effect for time on BMI (p = 0.019) and on body mass (p = 0.036) with both increasing post-intervention in both groups. There was a significant main effect for time on HDL-C concentrations (p = 0.005) showing a decrease post-intervention in both groups. Additionally, there was a significant treatment x time interaction effect for total cholesterol concentrations (p = 0.038) showing there was an increase in total cholesterol concentrations (4.01 to 4.16 mmol/L) in the VSL#3 group over the intervention period and a decrease in total cholesterol concentrations (3.88 to 3.38 mmol/L) in the control group over the same period. However, no changes were observed in waist circumference, glucose concentrations, and blood pressure. These results indicate that short-term probiotic VSL#3 supplementation might have a limited effect on markers of metabolic health in healthy adults. Future researches are needed to further examine the effects of probiotic supplementation on markers of metabolic health in healthy populations.