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Eating probiotics could help reduce fat accumulation in the liver, according to Spanish researchers.

Experiments on obese rats revealed that the consumption of probiotics during thirty days helps diminish the accumulation of fat in the liver. Researchers said the latest findings could lead to the development treatments against Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Probiotics, or "healthy" bacteria and yeasts can benefit the body in adequate doses.

Researchers noted that all three strains of bacteria included in the study (Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-4034, Bifidobacterium breve CNCM I-4035 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus CNCM I-4036) are safe for human consumption.

In the experiment, researchers incorporated the strains into the diet of laboratory rats genetically engineered to develop obesity due to a mutation that codifies the receptor or hormone leptin, which is responsible for feeling full or satiated after a meal.

Researchers at the University of Granada found that the administration of probiotics led to an accumulation of lipids (most of them triacylglycerides) in the liver. Researchers noted that the levels were significantly lower than that occurring in rats fed with a placebo.

"This new finding went hand in hand with lower values in proinflamatory molecules (tumor-a necrosis factor, interleukin 6 and liposacarid) in the serum of rats fed with probiotics," researchers wrote in the study.

The findings were published in the journal PLOS ONE.