Heat-Inactivated Pediococcus acidilactici pA1c®HI Maintains Glycemic Control and Prevents Body Weight Gain in High-Fat-Diet-Fed Mice

Heat-inactivated probiotics, also known as postbiotics, have emerged as an alternative to live probiotics, and have been shown to be good therapeutic tools for the management and treatment of metabolic dysfunctions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The present study aimed to assess the anti-obesogenic and anti-diabetic properties of heat-inactivated Pediococcus acidilactici pA1c® (pA1c®HI) in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The animals were given an HFD or HFD enriched with either the probiotic alive pA1c® or the postbiotic pA1c®HI. Body weight (BW), serum biochemical markers, gene expression, and histological changes were determined following 15 weeks of supplementation. The postbiotic pA1c®HI exerted a similar effect on glucose metabolism to that exerted by pA1c® supplementation. Nevertheless, we observed that pA1c®HI supplementation maintained BW, attenuated adipogenesis, and protected the mice from liver damage more efficiently than pA1c®. Similarly, in adipose tissue, pA1c®HI significantly downregulated markers of de novo lipogenesis (DNL) and fat storage. The observed results show that pA1c®HI administration was even more effective in mitigating the HFD’s detrimental effects than pA1c® supplementation, and therefore, the viability of this Pediococcus acidilactici CECT 9879 strain is not required for preserving its beneficial properties in the context of obesity and T2D.