Effects of Dietary Intake and Supplementation of Indigenous Probiotic Lactobacillus Plantarum Dad-13 on Body Mass Index, Faecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid, and Gut Microbiota of Undernourished Children in East Lombok, Indonesia

Abstract Malnutrition has been a global public health problem, jeopardizing children growth and constituting a major cause of death in children in developing countries, including Indonesia. Malnourished person tends to have abnormal gut microbiota. Probiotics supplementation can be considered as one of preventative measures against imbalanced gut microbiota and pathogenic bacteria to enable optimum nutrition absorption. This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary intake and supplementation of powder of indigenous probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Dad-13 to undernourished children in East Lombok, Indonesia on their body mass index (BMI), faecal short-chain fatty acids and gut microbiota. This study was performed in a Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled design, involving 40 children aged 10-12 years old, with BMI/age ratio ≤ -2 standard deviation (SD). Subjects were randomly divided into two groups namely placebo and probiotic group. The placebo group consumed 1 gram of skimmed milk daily while the probiotic group consumed 1 gram of skimmed milk containing 1x109 CFU/gram of L. plantarum Dad-13 daily, with consumption period of 60 days for both groups. The result showed that dietary intakes of both groups were below recommended value (<70%). Lactobacillus plantarum and Bifidobacterium significantly increased after probiotic consumption while Enterobacteriaceae and Klebsiella pneumonia significantly reduced. Short-chain fatty acid (acetate, propionate, butyrate) significantly increased in probiotic group, which consequently lowered pH level. Subsequently, a significant increase was observed in body weight and height in both groups at the end of the study. Only BMI of probiotic group increased after consumption of probiotics.