Gut Microbiota as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in Obese and Non-obese Adult Subjects

Background: The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is considered an healthy diet useful in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). High quality extra virgin olive oil (HQ-EVOO, [1]), an essential component of this diet, exerts a protective effect against CVD. Moreover, the gut microbiota (GM) has recently been recognized as a key factor in driving metabolic activities and involved in the stimulation of host immunity [2]. In particular, Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and their probio-active cellular substances produce beneficial effects in the gastrointestinal tract, thus representing important assets in pathological conditions such as obesity and CVD [3,4].

Objective: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that 3 months of treatment (MD with 40g/die HQ-EVOO) in 36 subjects (cases: overweight/obese vs controls: normal weight) may change their GM and inflammatory panel.