Investigation the effect of oleoylethanolamide supplementation on the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila bacterium and the dietary intakes in people with obesity: A randomized clinical trial

Akkermansia muciniphila bacterium is one of the inhabitant gut microbiota involving in the energy homeostasis and inhibition of the inflammations. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of Oleoylethanolamide (OEA) supplementation on the abundance of A. muciniphila and the dietary intakes in obese people. In this randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial, 60 eligible obese people were selected and divided randomly into two groups including OEA group (received two capsules containing 125 mg of OEA daily) and placebo group (received two capsules containing 125 mg of starch daily). The treatment lasted for 8 weeks. Dietary intakes were evaluated according to the three -day food record and, were analyzed by the Nutritionist 4 software. In order to evaluate the changes in the abundance of A. muciniphila bacterium, faeces samples were collected at baseline and at the end of study. The targeting of the 16S rRNA gene in A. muciniphila was measured by the quantitative real-time PCR analysis. For OEA group, the energy and carbohydrate intakes decreased significantly after adjusting for baseline values and confounder factors; (p = 0.035), the amount of carbohydrate was reported as 422.25 (SD = 103.11) gr and 368.44 (SD = 99.08) gr; (p = 0.042)), before and after the treatment, respectively. The abundance of A. muciniphila bacterium increased significantly in OEA group compared to placebo group (p < 0.001). Considering the accumulating evidence identified OEA as a novel, safe, and efficacious pharmaceutical agent increasing the abundance of A. muciniphila bacterium and modifying the energy balance, therefore it is suggested to use its supplement for treatment of the obese people. However, future studies are needed to confirm the positive results obtained in this study.