Influence of supplementation of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus curvatus on selected parameters of liver iron metabolism in rats on high-fat iron-deficient diet

Background
Iron deficiency constitutes the most frequent diet deficit. A high-fat diet also leads to disturbances in iron metabolism. There is evidence that probiotics favorably influence iron turnover.
Purpose
To compare the influence of supplementation with probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus curvatus with and without iron supply on liver iron metabolism in rats on high-fat iron-deficient diet.
Methods
In the first stage (8 weeks), rats were fed a control diet (group C, n = 8), high-fat diet (group HF, n = 8), or high-fat iron-deficient diet (group HFDEF, n = 48). In the second stage (8 weeks), the rats in the C and HF groups were kept on the same diets, while the rats in the HFDEF group were divided into 6 groups (n = 8 each) and fed as follows: group HFDEF- high-fat iron-deficient diet, group HFDEFFe- high-fat iron-deficient diet with iron supplementation, groups HFDEFLp and HFDEFLc- high-fat iron-deficient diet with L. plantarum or L. curvatus supplementation, respectively, and groups HFDEFFeLp and HFDEFFeLc- high-fat iron-deficient diet supplemented with iron and L. plantarum or L. curvatus, respectively. The rats were subsequently sacrificed, and their serum and liver samples were collected for analysis.
Results
Serum ferroportin level was higher in the HFDEFFe, HFDEFLp, HFDEFLc, and HFDEFFeLp groups than in the C and HFDEF groups. The hepatic expression of type 1 transferrin receptor gene (Tfrc) was higher in the HFDEFFeLc group than in the C group. No differences in serum iron, hepcidin, hemojuvelin, transferrin, and ferritin levels and in hepatic type 2 transferrin receptor gene expression were observed between the groups.
Conclusions
In rats on high-fat iron-deficient diet, the supplementation of L. curvatus and L. plantarum increased serum ferroportin concentration, and L. curvatus enhanced liver expression of the Tfrc gene.