Hyperlipidemia, characterized by aberrant lipid profiles, induces fatty deposits on arterial walls, thereby markedly increasing the risk of serious cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis. Probiotics have recently garnered attention as a promising strategy for managing hyperlipidemia since they offer lipid-lowering benefits for the host. In this study, we isolated Clostridium butyricum NCU-02 from centenarian fecal samples and evaluated its potential to mitigate hyperlipidemia in ApoE^-/- mice fed a high-fat diet. We demonstrated that C. butyricum NCU-02 exhibited robust probiotic characteristics, including acid/bile tolerance, antibacterial activity, and enhanced growth capacity. Supplementation with C. butyricum NCU-02 significantly improved serum lipid levels, alleviated systemic inflammation, and mitigated oxidative stress. Moreover, C. butyricum NCU-02 activated the hepatic PPARγ-LXRα-ABCA1 pathway, facilitating cholesterol efflux and consequently reducing both hepatic injury markers and lipid accumulation. Furthermore, C. butyricum NCU-02 restored gut microbiota homeostasis in hyperlipidemic mice, characterized by the enhanced microbial diversity, improved intestinal barrier function, and modulated microbial composition. Notably, the increased Blautia, decreased Alistipes, and improved biochemical parameters showed significant correlation with anti-hyperlipidemic effects. These results highlight the therapeutic potential of C. butyricum NCU-02 as a probiotic intervention for hyperlipidemia, offering a multifaceted approach to lipid regulation and gut health modulation.

As a next-generation probiotic, the therapeutic advantages of Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila) in metabolic diseases have been widely demonstrated. However, the exclusion of A. muciniphila from the List of Approved Food Microbial Strains in China creates regulatory barriers for conducting clinical trials, leading to a significant lack of clinical evidence. In this study, 130 overweight participants were randomly assigned to receive a placebo (PLA), viable A. muciniphila PROBIO (PB), or A. muciniphila PROBIO postbiotics (POST) intervention for 8 weeks. Our results demonstrated that, after 8 weeks of intervention, both the PB group (PB vs PLA = -0.63 vs 1.272, P < 0.001) and the POST group (POST vs PLA = -0.63 vs 0.43, P < 0.001) demonstrated significantly greater weight reduction compared to the PLA group. Additionally, the viable A. muciniphila PROBIO and postbiotics interventions significantly improved liver function, lipid metabolism, emotional well-being, and gut microbiota composition. Notably, the viable A. muciniphila intervention significantly enhanced key metabolic parameters, including total bilirubin (p = 0.031), triglycerides (P < 0.001), total cholesterol (p = 0.023), and LDL-C (p = 0.044), demonstrating an overall efficacy that exceeds its postbiotics, which contradicts current mainstream views. In conclusion, this study systematically evaluated the effects of viable A. muciniphila PROBIO and its postbiotics in overweight individuals, confirming their ability to improve overweight-related metabolic disorders through various mechanisms, including reducing lipid accumulation, modulating liver function, and reshaping gut microbiota. These findings provide a theoretical foundation and data support for developing products and clinical applications of A. muciniphila PROBIO in managing metabolic disorders such as overweight and obesity.

Conventional filling therapy fails to fundamentally reduce oral cariogenic bacteria. Thus, oral microbiota follow-up intervention after filling would be necessary for improving dental caries prognosis. We recruited 9 caries-free individuals, and 89 dental caries subjects (5 dropouts). Eighty-nine patients were randomized into three groups: caries (n=8; no treatment), control (n=40; filling), and postbiotics (n=41; filling and 14-day Probio-Eco^® intervention). Salivary samples were collected at 0 day (after filling) and 14 days. Our results showed that the diversity of dental caries oral microbiota was significantly increased compared with healthy subjects, and filling could restore a healthier oral microbiota partially and temporarily. Thepostbiotics intervention keeps a low alpha-diversity. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that a more stable oral microbiota structure after postbiotics intervention. Taxonomic and functional annotation of the microbiota revealed that postbiotics co-treatment significantly: increased the relative abundance of Pseudomonas and P. reactans, decreased the relative abundance of Prevotella shahii, and enriched the energy metabolism-related pathways. BugBase-predicted phenotypes inferred to an oral microbiota with decreased potential pathogenic bacteria and increased oxidative stress-tolerant bacteria after postbiotics intervention. Collectively, it suggested that postbiotics co-treatment could be a promising strategy that restores the oral microecological balance for dental caries.