scholarly journals Achacha (Garcinia humilis) Rind Improves Cardiovascular Function in Rats with Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver John ◽  
Stephen Wanyonyi ◽  
Peter Mouatt ◽  
Sunil Panchal ◽  
Lindsay Brown

Garcinia humilis is a fruit known as achachairú. It is native to South American countries such as Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil, but it is also cultivated as achacha in northern Australia. The aim of this study was to determine the phytochemicals in achacha rind and pulp and to investigate these components as potential treatments for the symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Both rind and pulp contain procyanidins and citric acid rather than hydroxycitric acid. Male Wistar rats (8–9 weeks old) were fed with either high-carbohydrate, high-fat, or corn starch diets for 16 weeks. Intervention groups were fed with either diet supplemented with 1.5% G. humilis rind powder or 2.0% G. humilis pulp for the last 8 weeks of the protocol. Rats fed a high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet exhibited hypertension, dyslipidemia, central obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. G. humilis rind decreased systolic blood pressure, diastolic stiffness, left ventricular inflammatory cell infiltration, and collagen deposition in high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats. However, there was no change in glucose tolerance, body weight, or body composition. Therefore, G. humilis rind, usually a food by-product, but not the edible pulp, showed potential cardioprotection with minimal metabolic changes in a rat model of diet-induced metabolic syndrome.

Marine Drugs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan du Preez ◽  
Nicholas Paul ◽  
Peter Mouatt ◽  
Marwan E. Majzoub ◽  
Torsten Thomas ◽  
...  

Carrageenans are thickening and gelling agents that may provide health benefits. Iota (ι)-carrageenan, a linear sulfated polysaccharide, is produced by the red seaweed, Sarconema filiforme. This study investigated the potential of this seaweed as a functional food for the reversal of metabolic syndrome and possible mechanisms. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups in a 16-week protocol: corn starch diet-fed rats (C); C rats supplemented with 5% S. filiforme for the last 8 weeks (CSF); high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats (H); and H rats supplemented with 5% S. filiforme for the last 8 weeks (HSF). S. filiforme was produced in tank-based aquaculture yielding 27 g dry weight/day/m2 of culture area. H rats developed obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, glucose intolerance, fatty liver and increased left ventricular collagen deposition. S. filiforme supplementation decreased body weight, abdominal and liver fat, systolic blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol concentrations, and plasma activities of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase. S. filiforme supplementation modulated gut microbiota without changing the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio. S. filiforme improved symptoms of high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in rats. Possible mechanisms include a reduced infiltration of inflammatory cells into organs as well as prebiotic actions in the gastrointestinal tract.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver D. John ◽  
Peter Mouatt ◽  
Marwan E. Majzoub ◽  
Torsten Thomas ◽  
Sunil K. Panchal ◽  
...  

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of disorders that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This study has investigated the responses to rind of yellow mangosteen (Garcinia dulcis), usually discarded as waste, in a rat model of human metabolic syndrome. The rind contains higher concentrations of phytochemicals (such as garcinol, morelloflavone and citric acid) than the pulp. Male Wistar rats aged 8–9 weeks were fed either corn starch diet or high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet for 16 weeks, which were supplemented with 5% freeze-dried G. dulcis fruit rind powder during the last 8 weeks. We characterised metabolic, cardiovascular, liver and gut microbiota parameters. High-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats developed abdominal obesity, hypertension, increased left ventricular diastolic stiffness, decreased glucose tolerance, fatty liver and reduced Bacteroidia with increased Clostridia in the colonic microbiota. G. dulcis fruit rind powder attenuated these changes, improved cardiovascular and liver structure and function, and attenuated changes in colonic microbiota. G. dulcis fruit rind powder may be effective in metabolic syndrome by appetite suppression, inhibition of inflammatory processes and increased fat metabolism, possibly related to changes in the colonic microbiota. Hence, we propose the use of G. dulcis fruit rind as a functional food to ameliorate symptoms of metabolic syndrome.


Metabolites ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 500
Author(s):  
Ryan du Preez ◽  
Marwan E. Majzoub ◽  
Torsten Thomas ◽  
Sunil K. Panchal ◽  
Lindsay Brown

Caulerpa lentillifera (sea grapes) is widely consumed in South-East Asia as a low-energy food with high contents of vitamins and minerals. This study investigated dried sea grapes containing 16.6% insoluble fibre commercially produced in Vietnam as an intervention. We hypothesised that insoluble fibre is the primary metabolite that will reverse diet-induced metabolic syndrome. Male Wistar rats (n = 48) were randomly allocated to four groups in a 16 week protocol. Two groups were fed either corn starch (C) or high-carbohydrate, high-fat (H) diets for the full 16 weeks. The other two groups received C and H diets for eight weeks and then received C. lentillifera added to these diets for the final eight weeks (CCL and HCL, respectively). High-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats developed obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, fatty liver disease and increased left ventricular collagen deposition. C. lentillifera supplementation in HCL rats decreased body weight, systolic blood pressure, plasma concentrations of total cholesterol and non-esterified fatty acids, inflammatory cells in heart and liver, and visceral adiposity. The Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio decreased in the gut microbiota of HCL rats. Therefore, C. lentillifera attenuated cardiovascular and metabolic symptoms of metabolic syndrome in rats, possibly by preventing infiltration of inflammatory cells together with modulating gut microbiota.


2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (9) ◽  
pp. 1502-1511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Senthil A. Kumar ◽  
Leigh C. Ward ◽  
Lindsay Brown

AbstractPrebiotics alter bacterial content in the colon, and therefore could be useful for obesity management. We investigated the changes following addition of inulin oligofructose (IO) in the food of rats fed either a corn starch (C) diet or a high-carbohydrate, high-fat (H) diet as a model of diet-induced metabolic syndrome. IO did not affect food intake, but reduced body weight gain by 5·3 and 12·3 % in corn starch+inulin oligofructose (CIO) and high-carbohydrate, high-fat with inulin oligofructose (HIO) rats, respectively. IO reduced plasma concentrations of free fatty acids by 26·2 % and TAG by 75·8 % in HIO rats. IO increased faecal output by 93·2 %, faecal lipid excretion by 37·9 % and weight of caecum by 23·4 % and colon by 41·5 % in HIO rats. IO improved ileal morphology by reducing inflammation and improving the density of crypt cells in HIO rats. IO attenuated H diet-induced increases in abdominal fat pads (C 275 (sem 19), CIO 264 (sem 40), H 688 (sem 55), HIO 419 (sem 32) mg/mm tibial length), fasting blood glucose concentrations (C 4·5 (sem 0·1), CIO 4·2 (sem 0·1), H 5·2 (sem 0·1), HIO 4·3 (sem 0·1) mmol/l), systolic blood pressure (C 124 (sem 2), CIO 118 (sem 2), H 152 (sem 2), HIO 123 (sem 3) mmHg), left ventricular diastolic stiffness (C 22·9 (sem 0·6), CIO 22·9 (sem 0·5), H 27·8 (sem 0·5), HIO 22·6 (sem 1·2)) and plasma alanine transaminase (C 29·6 (sem 2·8), CIO 32·1 (sem 3·0), H 43·9 (sem 2·6), HIO 33·6 (sem 2·0) U/l). IO attenuated H-induced increases in inflammatory cell infiltration in the heart and liver, lipid droplets in the liver and plasma lipids as well as impaired glucose and insulin tolerance. These results suggest that increasing soluble fibre intake with IO improves signs of the metabolic syndrome by decreasing gastrointestinal carbohydrate and lipid uptake.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1369
Author(s):  
Nikhil S. Bhandarkar ◽  
Peter Mouatt ◽  
Marwan E. Majzoub ◽  
Torsten Thomas ◽  
Lindsay Brown ◽  
...  

Waste from food production can be re-purposed as raw material for usable products to decrease industrial waste. Coffee pulp is 29% of the dry weight of coffee cherries and contains caffeine, chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, diterpenes and fibre. We investigated the attenuation of signs of metabolic syndrome induced by high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet in rats by dietary supplementation with 5% freeze-dried coffee pulp for the final 8 weeks of a 16-week protocol. Coffee pulp decreased body weight, feed efficiency and abdominal fat; normalised systolic blood pressure, left ventricular diastolic stiffness, and plasma concentrations of triglycerides and non-esterified fatty acids; and improved glucose tolerance in rats fed high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. Further, the gut microbiota was modulated with high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and coffee pulp supplementation and 14 physiological parameters were correlated with the changes in bacterial community structures. This study suggested that coffee pulp, as a waste from the coffee industry, is useful as a functional food for improving obesity-associated metabolic, cardiovascular and liver structure and function, and gut microbiota.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
T. S. Petryn ◽  
◽  
M. R. Nagalievska ◽  
N. O. Sybirna ◽  
◽  
...  

Introduction. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities that includes hypertension, central obesity, insulin resistance and atherogenic dyslipidemia. Given the wide geographical distribution and growing number of people suffering from this disease, there is an urgent need in developing animal models that would accurately reproduce the development of all symptoms of human metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, obesity and hypertension). The most cost-effective method related to the real causes of metabolic syndrome is the use of different types of diets. Materials and Methods. The study was performed on white outbred male rats about 6 months old and weighing 300–400 g. The metabolic syndrome was induced by high-fat and high-carbohydrate diets. The lipid-enriched diet involved the consumption of regular chow diet for laboratory animals with additional fat content (40 % by weight of chow). The source of additional lipids was olive oil, which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). Animals on the diet enriched in carbohydrates together with regular chow diet for laboratory animals consumed 10 % fructose solution instead of drinking water. Glucose tolerance tests were conducted and areas under the glycemic curves were calculated. We determined the content of glycated hemoglobin and glucose concent­ration, the concentration of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood plasma of rats. Results. The development of metabolic syndrome induced by an excessive consumption of carbohydrates and lipids for 42 days was accompanied by impaired glucose tolerance, increased glycosylated hemoglobin, triglycerides and cholesterol concentrations, as well as a decreased HDL content. An increase in the concentrations of LDL and activity of paraoxonase were found due to the induction of the pathological condition by an excessive fat intake, while a high carbohydrate diet caused a decrease in paraoxonase activity. Conclusions. The use of fructose for 42 days causes the most pronounced manifestations of the studied pathology. The use of this model will allow determining the biochemical and molecular changes that accompany the development of this pathological condition. It will also facilitate the development and evaluation of the effectiveness of new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of metabolic syndrome.


2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R Peterson ◽  
Samantha Haller ◽  
Tracy Ta ◽  
Luiza Bosch ◽  
Aspen Smith ◽  
...  

NLR family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) is a pattern recognition receptor responsible for perpetuating an inflammatory response through production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18. It has been implicated in the sustained inflammatory response in obesity and multiple cardiovascular disease conditions. In order to investigate NLRP3 as a potential therapeutic target in metabolic syndrome, C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) and NLRP3 knockout (NLRP3-\-) mice were fed a normal diet (ND; 12% fat chow) or a high fat diet (HFD; 45% fat chow) for 5 months. At 5 months, echocardiography and glucose tolerance tests (GTTs) were performed. Cardiac function assessed by fractional shortening (FS) was significantly impaired by HFD feeding in the WT group (0.335 HFD vs. 0.456 ND; p<0.05) but not in the NLRP3-\- (0.449 HFD vs. 0.492 ND; p>0.05). FS was higher in NLRP3-\-HFD than in WT-HFD (p<0.05). Two-dimensional analysis shows the FS difference between NLRP3-\-HFD and WT-HFD was primarily explained by the difference in left ventricular end-systolic dimension (0.2716 cm WT vs. 0.1883 cm NLRP3-\-; p<0.05). Glucose tolerance measured by area under the curve (AUC) was significantly impaired by HFD feeding for both WT (23183 ND vs. 57298 HFD; p<0.001) and NLRP3-\- (23197 ND vs. 44626 HFD; p<0.001), but significantly better in the NLRP3-\-HFD than in WT-HFD (p<0.01). HFD feeding increased fasting blood glucose (FBG) for both WT (97.7 mg . dl -1 ND vs. 164.7 mg . dl -1 HFD; p<0.01) and NLRP3-\- (80.50 mg . dl -1 ND vs. 108.8 mg . dl -1 HFD; p<0.05), but significantly less in NLRP3-\- mice (NLRP3-\- vs. WT; p<0.05). For GTTs, body weight was significantly higher in the WT than NLRP3-\- fed HFD (47.93 g vs. 36.5 g; p<0.001). Body weight explained 92% of variation in glucose tolerance (p<0.0001) and 69% of variation in fasting blood glucose (p<0.0001). WT-HFD averaged 1.31X heavier than NLRP3-\-HFD, while the AUC for the IGTT was 1.28X larger for the WT-HFD than NLRP3-\-HFD. Body weights were not significantly different between genotypes at the time of echo. The results suggest that knockout of NLRP3 may be protective against HFD induced cardiovascular dysfunction. A protective effect on glucose tolerance is not strongly supported.


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