We recently showed that adherence to the Mediterranean diet increased the proportion of plasma n-3 PUFA, which was associated with an improved intestinal barrier integrity. In the present exploratory analysis, we assessed faecal fatty acids in the same cohort, aiming to investigate possible associations with intestinal barrier integrity. Women from the Lifestyle Intervention Study in Women with Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (LIBRE) randomised controlled trial, characterised by an impaired intestinal barrier integrity, followed either a Mediterranean diet (intervention group, n 33) or a standard diet (control group, n 35). At baseline (BL), month 3 (V1) and month 12 (V2), plasma lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, faecal zonulin and faecal fatty acids were measured. In the intervention group, faecal proportions of palmitoleic acid (16:1, n-7) and arachidonic acid (20:4, n-6) decreased, while the proportion of linoleic acid (18:2, n-6) and α linoleic acid (18:3, n-3) increased (BL-V1 and BL-V2, all P < 0·08). In the control group, faecal proportions of palmitic acid and arachidic acid increased, while the proportion of linoleic acid decreased (BL-V1, all P < 0·05). The decrease in the proportion of palmitoleic acid correlated with the decrease in plasma lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (ΔV1-BL r = 0·72, P < 0·001; ΔV2-BL r = 0·39, P < 0·05) and correlated inversely with adherence to the Mediterranean diet (Mediterranean diet score; ΔV1-BL r = –0·42, P = 0·03; ΔV2-BL r = -0·53, P = 0·005) in the intervention group. Our data show that adherence to the Mediterranean diet induces distinct changes in the faecal fatty acid composition. Furthermore, our data indicate that the faecal proportion of palmitoleic acid, but not faecal n-3 PUFA, is associated with intestinal barrier integrity in the intervention group.

We have demonstrated previously that a diet containing skimmed milk (SM) fermented by Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (LGSP) reduces adipocyte size in Sprague–Dawley rats. Two experiments were conducted to extend these observations in order to elucidate the mechanism involved. In experiment 1, lean and obese Zucker rats were fed a diet containing SM or LGSP for 4 weeks. The LGSP diet, compared with the SM diet, resulted in lowering of the mesenteric adipose tissue weight (23 %; P < 0·05), adipocyte sizes (28 %; P < 0·001) and serum leptin concentration (36 %; P < 0·05) in lean rats. Obese Zucker rats did not display such dietary effects. Only the number of smaller adipocytes was increased (P < 0·05) by the LGSP diet in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of obese rats. The LGSP diet significantly reduced the serum and hepatic cholesterol in rats. In addition, the LGSP diet led to an increased excretion of faecal fatty acids and total neutral faecal sterols in both rat strains. In experiment 2, Sprague–Dawley rats with permanent cannulation of the thoracic duct were fed either the SM or LGSP diets and their lymph was collected. The LGSP diet lowered the maximum transport rate of TAG and phospholipids. These results indicate that fermented milk regulates adipose tissue growth through inhibition at the stage of dietary fat absorption in lean Zucker rats.