Oral Administration of Clostridium butyricum Alleviates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Mice by Modulating Gut Akkermansia muciniphila Abundance via Direct Growth Promotion

This study investigated the anti-obesity effects of Clostridium butyricum (CLB) and the underlying mechanisms through gut microbiota modulation. High-fat diet (HFD)-fed C57BL/6 mice were orally administered CLB (1 × 10¹⁰ CFU/kg/day) for 8 weeks. CLB intervention reduced body weight gain by 13.20% and decreased fat mass (21.10 ± 2.24% vs. HFD: 23.39 ± 2.34%, P < 0.05), while partially restoring fecal butyrate levels (11.73 ± 4.99 vs. HFD: 7.27 ± 3.40 μg/g, P < 0.05). 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed CLB selectively increased the abundance of Akkermansia, which was depleted in HFD mice. In vitro, butyrate, CLB lysate, and culture supernatant significantly enhanced the growth of Akkermansia muciniphila (AKK), indicating microbial cross-feeding. These findings demonstrate CLB alleviates obesity by restoring the abundance of AKK, partly through the production of metabolites that promote the proliferation of AKK, offering novel insights into probiotic-driven microbiota modulation for metabolic health.