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Table 4. Pre-clinical and clinical evidence of prebiotics for the treatment of obesity or aging
Disease of
Agent Model investigated Key findings Ref.
interest
[180]
Galacto- Obesity HFD-induced obese male ↓ Weight gain and WAT dysfunction, serum total Kong et al.
oligosaccharides Sprague Dawley rats cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C and LDL-C
[181]
Obesity Obese men and women ↑ Bifidobacteria Krumbeck et al.
(aged 18-65)
Obesity Obese prediabetic men ↑ Bifidobacterium species Canfora et al. [166]
and women (aged 45-70)
Aging Aged female C57BL/6J ↑ Bacteroides, Akkermansia, Lactobacillus, α-diversity; Arnold et al. [167]
SPF mice ↓ Clostridium, intestinal permeability, colonic TNF-α
expression;
No impact on Bifidobacteria
[169]
Marine agar Aging Male Drosophila ↑ Proteobacteria, lifespan, antioxidant activity, Ma et al.
oligosaccharide melanogaster upregulated IMD gene expression;
↓ Firmicutes
[171]
Quercetin Obesity HFD-induced obese male ↓ Body weight gain, total cholesterol, triglycerides, free Jung et al.
C57BL/6J SPF mice cholesterol, total lipids, lipogenic gene expression
[175]
Abdominal MSG-induced obese male ↑ Bacteroidetes, lipid oxidation, locomotor activity, Muc2, Zhao et al.
obesity C57BL/6J mice ZO-1
↓ Firmicutes, body weight gain, inguinal and epididymal
fat mass and adipocyte size, lipid deposition
Dasatinib + Aging Aged female BALB/c ↑ Verrucomicrobia (i.e., Akkermansia), Gram-positive taxa Saccon et al. [173]
quercetin mice ↓ Firmicutes, intestinal senescence and inflammatory
gene expression
[29]
Aged garlic extract Obesity Obese men and women ↑ Circulating γδ-T cells Xu et al.
(aged 25-65) ↓ Serum IL-6 and TNF-α
Epigallocatechin Obesity HFD-induced obese male ↑ Lifespan Yuan et al. [177]
gallate SPF Wistar rats ↓ Body weight, serum free fatty acid, disease pathology,
frailty, serum glucose, insulin, total cholesterol,
triglycerides, LDL-C, IL-6, TNF- α, ROS
[178]
Obesity Overweight and obese ↑ Leptin Huang et al.
women (aged 18-65) ↓ LDL-C
No impact on body weight, total cholesterol, triglycerides
or HDL-C
HFD: High-fat diet; WAT: white adipose tissue; HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; SPF:
specific pathogen-free; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-alpha; IMD: immune deficiency; MSG: monosodium glutamate; muc2: mucin 2; ZO-1: zonula
occluden-1; γδ-T: gamma delta T; IL-6: interleukin-6; ROS: reactive oxygen species.

reduced serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels, compared to controls. Kimchi-
derived L. plantarum Ln4 is another strain that reduces weight gain in HFD-fed mice, improves metabolic
markers (e.g., reduces total triglycerides and insulin resistance, improves glucose tolerance), and decreases
[189]
inflammatory adipokines (e.g., CRP, MCP-1) in WAT through immunomodulation . The parent strain of
L. plantarum NCIMB 8826, known as L. plantarum WCFS1, protects age-associated mucosal barrier decline
[190]
in mice subjected to accelerated aging . Another subspecies of L. plantarum, TWK10, demonstrates
beneficial microbial modulatory properties by increasing SCFA-producing species in mice after its
supplementation . Moreover, age-associated loss of muscle strength, bone mass and cognitive decline was
[191]
prevented in mice treated with L. plantarum TWK10. L. acidophilus has also been studied for its impact on
obesity in HFD-fed mice . Findings reveal that L. acidophilus reduces body weight and fat mass, activates
[192]
BAT, and improves metabolic activity (e.g., energy, glucose and lipid metabolism). Obesity-induced
inflammation (e.g., TNF-α, IL-1β and IFN-γ), as well as TLR4 protein expression and endotoxemia status,
was also reduced after 12-week supplementation with L. acidophilus through NF-κB inhibition.
Supplementation with L. acidophilus successfully resolved obesity-induced gut dysbiosis in the mice by
increasing the F/B ratio and decreasing the abundance of Faecalibaculum and Bifidobacterium, for example.
Previous literature has discussed the beneficial modulation of the gut microbiota in obese models in more
[193]
detail .