Benefits of Stevia rebaudian root inulin on mice health in long-term exposure study

Inulin is a non-digestible carbohydrate with many human health benefits. However, studies on Stevia rebaudian root inulin (SRRI) are limited. Here, we evaluated the effects of SRRI on C57BL/6J mice and their offspring using the four groups: parental normal control (P-NC) and their offspring (F-NC), parental SRRI (P-SRRI) and their offspring (F-SRRI). After six months of parental exposure to SRRI, the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and uric acid (UA) in P-SRRI and F-SRRI group were lower than those in respective NC mice, in addition to lower abdominal lipid and liver fat deposition. Moreover, dietary SRRI increased the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and the abundance of beneficial Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and reduced the PE and PC lipid-like metabolite. This study indicates that SRRI has healthy effects, especially those related to reducing body fat.