In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, participants receiving the next-generation probiotic regained significantly less weight over six months than those receiving placebo, while also preserving insulin sensitivity.
The findings, which were published in Nature Medicine, come as interest grows in microbiome-based interventions that could complement lifestyle approaches and potentially support individuals after discontinuing glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.
Speaking with NutraIngredients, Dr. Anneleen Segers, head of lab and medical affairs manager at The Akkermansia Company, said the research demonstrates a broader shift in metabolic health from achieving weight loss to maintaining it over the long term.
Weight maintenance emerges as the next frontier
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 90 adults with overweight or obesity who first completed an eight-week low-energy diet and achieved at least 8% weight loss before entering a 24-week weight maintenance phase.
Participants were randomized to receive either daily pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT supplementation or placebo alongside a healthy diet, and 80 participants completed the study. The primary endpoint was change in body weight during the maintenance period.
Participants receiving pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT regained an average of 1.2 kg during the maintenance phase, compared with 3.2 kg in the placebo group.
Researchers also reported greater overall weight loss from baseline and better preservation of insulin sensitivity, as measured by the Matsuda Index, with no treatment-related serious adverse events observed.
“The treatment with MucT actually led to lower body weight regain versus placebo at the end of this weight maintenance period, [and] not only numerically, but also clinically, this is a very significant difference,” said Segers.
She noted that maintaining even modest weight loss has important clinical implications. “A sustained weight loss of around 5% already gives meaningful improvements in cardiometabolic risk profile,” she said.
Beyond the primary outcomes, researchers observed reduced expression of inflammatory genes and increased expression of genes associated with adipose tissue browning, alongside evidence of increased fecal energy excretion in some participants. Segers said these findings give early clues about how pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT may help support long-term weight maintenance.
The findings arrive as the dialogue on obesity management evolves outside weight reduction alone.
“We are really shifting from the focus on losing weight to maintaining those results long term...weight-loss maintenance is one of the most important unmet needs at the moment in metabolic health,” Segers noted.
She added that the ingredient could be beneficial not only with calorie restriction but also after GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy, although studies evaluating this application have yet to be conducted.
Baseline microbiome may shape treatment response
Researchers also explored whether an individual’s existing gut microbiome influenced treatment response. Although the overall study met its primary endpoint, participants with lower baseline Akkermansia levels appeared to derive even greater cardiometabolic benefits from supplementation.
According to Segers, those participants experienced stronger weight-maintenance outcomes, greater improvements in whole-body insulin sensitivity and additional reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
“Our trial was positive overall, which indicates that anyone can benefit, but subjects with low baseline levels responded even better to treatment,” she explained.
The findings add to growing interest in personalized nutrition strategies that use baseline microbiome characteristics to identify individuals most likely to benefit from specific interventions.
“I think this is a very important and relevant finding, [as] it really points toward personalized nutrition,” she noted.
Gut–brain axis research continues
While metabolic health is still the company’s primary focus, Segers also highlighted emerging research investigating the relationship between pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT and the gut–brain axis.
She cautioned that the evidence remains preliminary. A small proof-of-concept study in individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) suggested improvements in gut-brain-axis-related outcomes, including measures of anxiety, depression and low mood, alongside improvements in IBS symptoms.
“We have done a proof-of-concept study in humans, and we saw improvements in gut-brain-axis-related outcomes, [but] these are very preliminary data,” she clarified.
Building on those findings, the company has completed a larger clinical trial in people with diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D), with results expected.
In the future, Segers said one of the biggest research priorities is understanding why some individuals respond more strongly than others and how Akkermansia muciniphila interacts with dietary patterns, metabolic status and therapeutic interventions such as GLP-1 receptor agonists.
“We’re still in the early stages of understanding the full potential of Akkermansia in human health...we know it works, but we’re still trying to understand exactly how it works, and then translate that into evidence-based solutions," she added.
Source: Nature Medicine
32, 2107–2116 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04394-7
“Pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT for weight loss maintenance in people with overweight and obesity: a controlled randomized trial."
Authors: Mount, S. et al.
