Comparison of Postbiotics and Probiotics of <i>Lactococcus lactis</i> NZ9000 in Alleviating Liver Injury Induced by Bisphenol A via Binding and Removing Bisphenol A in Mouse Model

Studies have demonstrated the toxic effects of inevitable exposure of bisphenol A (BPA), especially liver injury via gut-liver axis. Probiotics are increasingly used as adjunctive therapy to ameliorate adversely effects induced by BPA. In view of safety concerns of probiotics, postbiotics are proposed as alternatives to probiotics in clinical applications. At present, no study has directly compared the ameliorative effect of probiotics and postbiotics. This study compares the effect of postbiotics and probiotics derived from Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 employed for BPA-induced liver injury in a mouse model. The results show that both postbiotics and probiotics of L. lactis NZ9000 have BPA binding capacity in vitro and in vivo, and administration of probiotics and postbiotics ameliorate BPA-induced liver injury. BPA increases pyroptosis factors and decreases intestinal physical barrier, which reverses by both probiotics and postbiotics treatment. The composition of gut microbiota is also modulated by both probiotics and postbiotics. Notably, the stronger mitigating effects of the above biomarkers are seen in postbiotics treatment than in probiotics treatment. In view of the stronger mitigating effects of postbiotics compared with probiotics and its smaller safety concern, postbiotics are proposed to be considered as next-generation adjunctive therapy to ameliorate adversely effects induced by environmental toxicants.