5. Conclusions
constipation, liver steatosis
LIVER STEATOSIS
The probiotic resulted in significant improvements in the primary parameter, body fat mass, as assessed with BIA; body weight; BMI; waist circumference; WHtR; visceral adipose tissue, as assessed with sonography; and in liver steatosis grade, as assessed with sonography. The number of significant results exceeded those expected from meta-analyses of previous studies involving probiotics targeting weight management and metabolic health outcomes.The synbiotic resulted in better outcomes in visceral adipose tissue and liver steatosis grade, as assessed with sonography, and in reduction in constipation. The count of viable lactobacilli was lower in the synbiotic test product than in the probiotic test product, likely due to excessive moisture in test preparation from acacia gum. This may explain the somewhat reduced effect seen in the Synbiotic group compared with the Probiotic group.