This study aimed to investigate the physiological characteristics and anti-obesity effects of Lactobacillus plantarum K10. The α-amylase inhibitory activity, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and lipase inhibitory activity of L. plantarum K10 was 94.66±4.34%, 99.78±0.12%, and 87.40±1.41%, respectively. Moreover, the strain inhibited the adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells (32.61±8.32%) at a concentration of 100 µg/mL. In order to determine its potential for use as a probiotic, we investigated the physiological characteristics of L. plantarum K10. L. plantarum K10 was resistant to gentamycin, kanamycin, streptomycin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, vancomycin, and chloramphenicol. It also showed higher Leucine arylamidase, Valine arylamidase, and β-galactosidase activities. Moreover, it was comparatively tolerant to bile juice and acid, exhibiting resistance to Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus with rates of 90.71%, 11.86%, 14.19%, and 23.08%, respectively. The strain did not produce biogenic amines and showed higher adhesion to HT-29 cells compared to L. rhamnosus GG. As a result of the animal study, L. plantarum K10 showed significantly lower body weight compared to the high-fat diet group. The administration of L. plantarum K10 resulted in a reduction of subcutaneous fat mass and mesenteric fat mass compared to the high-fat diet (HFD) group. L. plantarum K10 also showed improvement in gut permeability compared to the HFD positive control group. These results demonstrate that L. plantarum K10 has potential as a probiotic with anti-obesity effects. © Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.
