Soymilk Fermented with Lactic Acid Bacteria Reduces Plasma TNF-α and Visceral Fat Mass in Rats Fed a High Fat and High Cholesterol Diet

As the administration of lactic acid-fermented soymilk（ LFS） tends to reduce the adipose tissue mass of rats, LFS is assumed to suppress the inflammation in overweight rats. Thus, we investigated the effects of LFS on anti-inflammation and related gene expression in adipose tissues using male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a high fat and high cholesterol diet （HFC diet）. HFC diet included 30% fat and 0.5% cholesterol, and 25% of the HFC diet was replaced with dried LFS for HFCL diet. Rats were fed the AIN-93G, HFC and HFCL diets for 5 weeks, respectively. Plasma TNF-α of rats in the HFCL group was significantly decreased compared with that of rats in the HFC group. The mass of visceral fat in the HFCL group tends to be lower than that in the HFC group. Although the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 （MCP-1） was not significantly repressed in mesenteric adipose tissue of the HFCL group, the expression of TNF-α of the HFCL group was significantly reduced compared with that of the HFC group. The change in TNF-α expression seems to be higher than that in MCP-1 expression, because MCP-1 contributes to macrophage infiltration in adipose tissue, where macrophage secretes TNF-α. These results suggested that the ingestion of LFS induced to suppress the inflammation of visceral fat tissues in rats fed a high fat and high cholesterol diet.