Potential effects of lignan-enriched flaxseed powder on bodyweight, visceral fat, lipid profile, and blood pressure in rats

The potential effects of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside lignan-enriched flaxseed powder (LEFP) on bodyweight, visceral fat, lipid profile, adipokines, and blood pressure were investigated using rats, divided into four groups (n=8); a normal control diet (NC), a normal control diet with 0.02% LEFP (NCL), a high-fat and high-fructose diet (HFD), or a high-fat and high-fructose diet with 0.02% LEFP (HFDL). Liver, heart, kidney, adipose tissues, and blood were collected following 12-weeks on the diets. The average body weight of the HFD group was significantly higher than those of the NC, NCL, and the HFDL groups (P<0.05). Also, the average weights of kidneys from the HFD and HFDL groups was higher than those of the NC and NCL groups (P<0.05), although not significantly different in the weights of livers and hearts. The visceral fat weight was significantly higher in rats in the HFD group, but notably reduced in the HFDL fed rats (P<0.05). Accordingly, plasma leptin increased significantly in rats fed the HFD diet, higher than rats fed the HFDL diet. Also, the rats in the HFDL group showed improved lipid profile, compared to the rats in the HFD group (P<0.05). Furthermore, a significant reduction in blood pressure was observed in the rats of the HFDL group compared to the HFD group (P<0.05). These data suggest that the LEFP supplementation may provide beneficial effects such as the reduction of bodyweight and fat accumulation, the lipid profile improvement, and blood pressure control.     

Distribution of K and L cells in the feline intestinal tract

Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 and GLP-2 are hormones secreted from specialized K cells (GIP) and L cells (GLP-1, GLP-2) in the intestinal mucosa. These hormones play major roles in health and disease by modulating insulin secretion, satiety, and multiple intestinal functions. The aim of this study was to describe the distribution of K cells and L cells in the intestines of healthy cats. Samples of duodenum, mid-jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon were collected from 5 cats that were euthanized for reasons unrelated to this study and had no gross or histologic evidence of gastrointestinal disease. Samples stained with rabbit-anti-porcine GIP, mouse-anti-(all mammals) GLP-1, or rabbit-anti-(all mammals) GLP-2 antibodies were used to determine the number of cells in 15 randomly selected 400× microscopic fields. In contrast to other mammals (eg, dogs) in which K cells are not present in the ileum and aborally, GIP-expressing cells are abundant throughout the intestines in cats (>6/high-power field in the ileum). Cells expressing GLP-1 or GLP-2 were most abundant in the ileum (>9/high-power field) as in other mammals, but, although GLP-1–expressing cells were abundant throughout the intestines, GLP-2–expressing cells were rarely found in the duodenum. In conclusion, the distribution of GIP-secreting K cells in cats is different from the distribution of K cells that is described in other mammals. The difference in distribution of GLP-2– and GLP-1–expressing cells suggests that more than 1 distinct population of L cells is present in cats.     

Leptin and obesity

Obesity is a severely public health problem the whole society faces, and it is correlated closely with many diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, gallstone, and so on. Therefore it threatens people's survival quality severely. Obesity is a multiple-factor disease including genetic, metabolic and behavioral factor, and the gene is the main determining factor. With the development of molecular biology technique, people have founded several genes involved in obesity. Among these genes, the research on obese gene is the most profound. The protein leptin is the expression product of the obese gene. This review elucidates the structure, the main biological function, the mechanism of leptin and it's relationship with obesity.     

Improvement of insulin sensitivity by osteocalcin inhibits inflammation in the adipose tissue of obese mice

AIM: To explore the improving effect of osteocalcin on obesity-related insulin resistance and inflammation in the adipose tissue of obese mice.METHODS: The C57BL/6 mice were fed with high-fat diet for 12 weeks to obtain obese mice. Osteocalcin (30 ng/kg or 3 ng/kg) and saline solution (control) were intraperitoneally injected for other 4 weeks. The fat mass, body weight, serum triglycerides and serum free fatty acid were analyzed. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test were carried out. Macrophage infiltration degree in the adipose tissue was observed by immunohistochemical staining. The mRNA expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and CD68 was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.RESULTS: Osteocalcin (30 ng/kg or 3 ng/kg) treatment for 4 weeks significantly reduced the body weight, fat mass and insulin level, and improved abnormal glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in the obese mice. Moreover, the macrophage infiltration decreased, and the mRNA expression of MCP-1 and CD68 was down-regulated in the adipose tissue of obese mice treated with osteocalcin at 30 ng/kg.CONCLUSION: Osteocalcin at 30 ng/kg significantly reduces body weight and fat mass, and attenuates the severity of insulin resistance through down-regulating the mRNA expression of MCP-1 and CD68 and inbihiting macrophage infiltration in the adipose tissue of obese mice induced by high-fat diet.     

Serum apelin and chemerin levels in female obese children and their correlation with insulin resistance

AIM: To investigate the serum levels of apelin and chemerin in female obese children and their correlation with insulin resistance (IR).METHODS: Thirty-five female children participated in the study, 20 of which were obese and 15 were non-obese controls ,without statistical difference in age between the 2 groups. Serum levels of apelin and chemerin were measured by ELISA method. The concentrations of triglyceride (TG), cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting glucose and fasting insulin (FINS) were measured. Body mass index standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were calculated for all participants. RESULTS: A significant difference of BMI between obese group and control group (24.02±3.90 vs 16.46±1.93, P<0.01) was observed. Serum levels of TG, LDL-C, FINS, and HOMA-IR were significantly higher in obese group than those in control group (allP<0.05). Serum levels of apelin and chemerin were also significantly higher in obese children than those in the controls . Serum level of apelin was positively correlated with BMI-SDS (r=0.356, P<0.05), TG (r=0.548, P<0.01), FINS (r=0.541, P<0.01) and HOMA-IR (r=0.551, P<0.01) in all individuals. The negative correlation between serum chemerin level and age (r=-0.362, P< 0.05), and positive correlations between serum chemerin level and BMI-SDS (r= 0.315, P<0.01), TG (r= 0.28, P<0.05), FINS (r= 0.38, P<0.01) and HOMA-IR (r= 0.41, P< 0.01) were detected.CONCLUSION: Increased serum apelin and chemerin levels are correlated with insulin resistance, indicating their roles in the pathogenesis of children obese.     

Correlation among plasma leptin,resistin an type 2 diabetes mellitus

AIM：To assess the association of resistin,obesity,serum lipid levels and insulin resistance with plasma leptin.METHODS：The concentrations of fasting serum glucose,insulin,lipid profiles,plasma resistin and leptin were assayed in 80 cases (including 37 controls with normal glucose tolerance and 43 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus).RESULTS：Fasting plasma leptin level was positively correlated with sex,body mass index (BMI),waist circumference (WC),waist-hip ratio and fasting serum insulin (F Ins) （P<0.01）.Fasting plasma leptin level was negatively correlated with insulin sensitivity index (r=-0.373,P<0.01).There was no correlation between the concentrations of plasma leptin and FPG,TG,TC and resistin （P>0.05）.CONCLUSION：Fasting plasma leptin level is positively correlated with obesity and insulin resistance,not resistin.Leptin may play a role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus.     

Antiobesity and lipid lowering effects of Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng leaves extracts and mahanimbine on high fat diet induced obese rats

The dichloromethane (MKD) and ethyl acetate (MKE) extracts of Murraya koenigii leaves significantly reduced the body weight gain, plasma total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels significantly when given orally at a dose of 300 mg/kg/day to the high fat diet (HFD) induced obese rats for 2 weeks. The observed antiobesity and antihyperlipidemic activities of these extract are correlated with the carbazole alkaloids present in them. Mahanimbine (1) when given orally (30 mg/kg/day) also significantly lowered the body weight gain as well as plasma TC and TG levels. These findings demonstrate the excellent pharmacological potential of mahanimbine to prevent obesity.     

Bringing political economy into the debate on the obesity epidemic

This paper takes what has been termed the epidemic of obesity as the point of departure to examine the way in which political economic factors intersect with diet and nutrition to determine adverse health outcomes. The paper proposes several concepts to better understand the dynamics of the foodscape – institutional sites for the merchandising and consumption of food. These include the concepts of spatial colonization and pseudo foods. With a focus on critical dimensions of the contemporary foodscape, principally supermarket merchandising practices, as well as trends in other food vending operations, the paper explores incentives that motivate capital to spatially colonize the foodscape with aggressively promoted high fat/high sugar pseudo foods. The paper reports on extensive research on trade industry publications as well as data collected through onsite investigations of supermarket practices of the three largest Canadian retail supermarket operations. In addition, current merchandising practices of convenience chain store operations and some non-traditional food vending sites are examined. In concluding, it is argued that the rapidly evolving interdisciplinary debate around the obesity crisis would benefit considerably from the insights to be gained from political economic analysis of retail food industry practices and trends.     

High feeding intensity increases the severity of fatty liver in the American mink (Neovison vison) with potential ameliorating role for long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

Background

Rapid body fat mobilization, obesity, and an inadequate supply of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been suggested to play roles in the etiology of fatty liver in the American mink (Neovison vison). This study examined the effects of feeding intensity and dietary fat source on fatty liver induced by fasting. In a multi-factorial design, 3 different fat sources (herring oil, rich in n-3 PUFA, soya oil, rich in n-6 PUFA, and canola oil, rich in n-9 monounsaturated fatty acids) were fed to mink at a low and high feeding intensity for 10 weeks, followed by an overnight or a 5-day fasting treatment to induce fatty liver.

Results

Fasting led to the development of fatty liver with increased severity in the mink fed at the high feeding intensity. The herring oil diet, high in long-chain n-3 PUFA, was found to decrease the severity of fatty liver in the mink at the high feeding intensity.

Conclusion

Preventing excessive weight gain and increasing dietary intake of n-3 long-chain PUFA may help prevent excessive lipid accumulation during prolonged periods of fasting or inappetence by promoting hepatic fatty acid oxidation.