models as a tool to study the role of gut microbiota in obesity.

Obesity, a highly prevalent condition worldwide that leads to the development of multiple metabolic diseases, has been related to gut microbial dysbiosis. To understand this correlation, models have been extremely useful. However, its use is limited by associated ethical concerns, high costs, low representativeness, and low reproducibility. Therefore, new and improved models have been developed in recent years, representing a promising tool in the study of the role of gut microbiota modulation in weight management and metabolic health. This review aims to provide an update on the main findings obtained regarding gut microbiota modulation with probiotics, and food compounds, and its interaction with the host metabolism, associated with obesity. Available colon models currently used to study obesity are discussed, including batch and dynamic fermentation systems, and models that allow the study of microbiota-host interactions using cell cultures. models have demonstrated that homeostatic microbiota may help overcome obesity by producing satiety-related neurotransmitters and metabolites that protect the gut barrier and improve the metabolic activity of adipose tissue. models may be the key to finding new treatments for obesity-related disorders