Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Alleviates Prehypertension and Restores Gut Health and Microbiota in NaCl-Induced Prehypertensive Rats.

2025-04-20
Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins 18(1)

PubMed: 40254701
DOI: 10.1007/s12602-025-10536-z

Study Design

Population: Eighteen Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned equally into three groups: normotensive fed on a normal diet (ND), prehypertensive induced on a 4% NaCl high-salt diet (HSD), and prehypertensive induced on an HSD treated with LGG at 1 × 10^9 CFU daily for 8 weeks (LGG).
Methods: Eighteen Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned equally into three groups... Weekly changes in water, food, body weight, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were monitored. Serum levels of Na, K, Cl, ALB, Ca, and TP were measured at the end of treatment, along with morphological and histomorphometric changes in the small intestine. Stool samples collected before (W0) and 8 weeks after treatment (W8) were sequenced for bacterial 16S rDNA metagenomics.

Rigorous Journal
Animal Study

Probiotics could be used as adjuvant treatments in prehypertension management to restore gut microbiota dysbiosis caused by a high-salt diet. This study investigated the antihypertensive effects of the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) on high-salt diet-induced prehypertensive rats. Eighteen Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned equally into three groups: normotensive fed on a normal diet (ND), prehypertensive induced on a 4% NaCl high-salt diet (HSD), and prehypertensive induced on an HSD treated with LGG at 1 × 10⁹ CFU daily for 8 weeks (LGG). Weekly changes in water, food, body weight, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were monitored. Serum levels of Na, K, Cl, ALB, Ca, and TP were measured at the end of treatment, along with morphological and histomorphometric changes in the small intestine. Stool samples collected before (W0) and 8 weeks after treatment (W8) were sequenced for bacterial 16S rDNA metagenomics. Probiotic LGG significantly reduces average DBP, SBP, and MAP while improving gut integrity through intact intestine morphology, higher villus heights, and a V/C ratio. At the genus level, the LGG group's gut microbiota composition is more similar to the HSD profile at W0 but shifts to the ND profile after treatment at W8. Thus, probiotic LGG lowers blood pressure indices, improves serum biochemistry profile, restores small intestinal integrity barrier, and modulates gut microbiota profile, indicating its potential as an adjuvant treatment for prehypertension and the significance of gut health in blood pressure regulation.

Research Insights

Supplement	Dose	Health Outcome	Effect Type	Effect Size	Source
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG	—	Improved Gut Integrity	Beneficial	Moderate	View source improving gut integrity through intact intestine morphology, higher villus heights, and a V/C ratio
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG	—	Improved Serum Biochemistry	Beneficial	Small	View source improves serum biochemistry profile
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG	—	Reduced Blood Pressure	Beneficial	Moderate	View source Probiotic LGG significantly reduces average DBP, SBP, and MAP
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG	—	Restored Gut Microbiota	Beneficial	Moderate	View source modulates gut microbiota profile... the LGG group's gut microbiota composition is more similar to the HSD profile at W0 but shifts to the ND profile after treatment at W8