4(G)-β-D-galactosylsucrose as a prebiotics may improve underweight in inpatients with schizophrenia

Japanese inpatients with schizophrenia have a higher mortality risk due to underweight compared with the general population. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 4(G)-β-D-galactosylsucrose on body weight in underweight schizophrenia inpatients. The study population consisted of 5 male and 11 female subjects aged 63.0 ± 10.9 years. The subjects had ingested 3.0 g/day 4(G)-β-D-galactosylsucrose for 6 months. BMI increased significantly, from 20.9 ± 3.7 kg/m(2) to 22.3 ± 4.3 kg/m(2), and this was accompanied by a significant increase in Bifidobacterium in the fecal microbiota, which increased from 16.1 ± 12.6% to 21.5 ± 13.9%. Although 4(G)-β-D-galactosylsucrose appears to have no significant effects on nutritional indicators such as serum albumin, it may alleviate underweight in inpatients with schizophrenia. Body weight may be related to fecal microbiota composition.