A mix of dietary fermentable fibers improves lipids handling by the liver of overfed minipigs.

Obesity induced by overfeeding ultimately can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, whereas dietary fiber consumption is known to have a beneficial effect. We aimed to determine if a supplementation of a mix of fibers (inulin, resistant starch and pectin) could limit or alleviate overfeeding-induced metabolic perturbations. Twenty female minipigs were fed with a control diet (C) or an enriched fat/sucrose diet supplemented (O + F) or not (O) with fibers. Between 0 and 56 days of overfeeding, insulin (+88%), HOMA (+102%), cholesterol (+45%) and lactate (+63%) were increased, without any beneficial effect of fibers supplementation. However, fibers supplementation limited body weight gain (vs. O, -15% at D56) and the accumulation of hepatic lipids droplets induced by overfeeding. This could be explained by a decreased lipids transport potential (-50% FABP1 mRNA, O + F vs. O) inducing a down-regulation of regulatory elements of lipids metabolism / lipogenesis (-36% SREBP1c mRNA, O + F vs. O) but not to an increased oxidation (O + F not different from O and C for proteins and mRNA measured). Glucose metabolism was also differentially regulated by fibers supplementation, with an increased net hepatic release of glucose in the fasted state (diet × time effect, P<.05 at D56) that can be explained partially by a possible increased glycogen synthesis in the fed state (+82% GYS2 protein, O + F vs. O, P=.09). The direct role of short chain fatty acids on gluconeogenesis stimulation is questioned, with probably a short-term impact (D14) but no effect on a long-term (D56) basis.

Safflower (Catharmus tinctorius L.) oil supplementation in overnourished rats during early neonatal development: effects on heart and liver function in the adult.

Carthamus tinctorius L. (common name: safflower) is an herb whose extracted oil (safflower oil) has been employed in both alternative and conventional medicine in the treatment of disease. Overnutrition during early postnatal life can increase the lifetime risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Here we investigate the effect of safflower oil supplementation given during a critical early developmental stage on the eventual occurrence of metabolic disease in overnourished rats. Groups of overnourished or adequately nourished rats were randomly assigned into 2 additional groups for supplementation with either safflower oil (SF) or vehicle for 7 to 30 days. Murinometric data and weights were examined. Serum was collected for measurement of glucose, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. Heart and liver oxidative status were also measured. Overnutrition for 7-30 days induced a significant increase in body weight and in values for abdominal circumference, thoracic circumference, body length, and body mass index. SF supplementation did not attenuate the effect of overnutrition on any of these parameters. In addition, overnutrition increased levels of glucose, triglycerides, and very low-density lipid compared with normal controls, but SF supplementation had no effect on these parameters. Measures of oxidative status in heart or liver were not influenced by overnutrition. However, oxidative measures were altered by SF supplementation in both of these organs. The present study reveals that nutritional manipulation during early development induces detrimental effects on metabolism in the adult that are not ameliorated by supplemental SF.

Postnatal prebiotic fibre intake mitigates some detrimental metabolic outcomes of early overnutrition in rats.

PURPOSE: Overnutrition during early development has been linked to metabolic disease and obesity in adulthood. Interventions to ameliorate this metabolic malprogramming are needed. Our objective was to determine whether prebiotic fibre would reduce weight gain and improve satiety hormone profiles in rats overnourished during the suckling period. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats reared in small litter (SL 3 pups) or normal litter (NL 12 pups) were randomized at weaning to AIN-93 (control) or a 10 % oligofructose (OFS) diet for 16 weeks. Body composition, an oral glucose tolerance test for glucose and gut hormones, and gut microbiota were assessed. RESULTS: At weaning, body weight was higher in SL than in NL rats (P < 0.03). At 19 weeks, body weight was lower with OFS than control (P < 0.04). There was a diet × litter size interaction wherein OFS in SL rats reduced body fat (%) to levels seen in NL rats (P < 0.05). OFS attenuated the glucose response in SL but not in NL rats (P < 0.015). Independent of litter size, OFS decreased total AUC for glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (P < 0.002) and increased total AUC for peptide YY (P < 0.01) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (P < 0.04) when compared to control. OFS, not litter size, played the predominant role in altering gut microbiota which included increased bifidobacteria and Akkermansia muciniphila with OFS. CONCLUSIONS: Postnatal consumption of OFS by rats raised in SL was able to attenuate body fat and glycaemia to levels seen in NL rats. OFS appears to influence satiety hormone and gut microbiota response similarly in overnourished and control rats.

Growth assessment in clinical practice: whose growth curve?

Differences in growth curves can influence the diagnosis of under- and overnutrition, and the interpretation of adequate growth following nutrition intervention. This effect is notable when comparing the World Health Organization (WHO) 2006 Growth Standard and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2000 Growth Reference for infants and children to 59 months of age. Important differences relate to conceptual approaches for generating growth standards to describe what population growth should be, compared to a reference of what growth is. WHO included only term infants exclusively or predominantly breast-fed beyond 4 months, and data for infants and children indicative of excess adiposity and growth failure were removed. Thus, fewer children are diagnosed with poor weight gain, and more with excess adiposity, using the WHO Growth Standard than when using the CDC Growth Reference. Adequate growth is based on proportional height and weight gains that track along growth curve trajectories. Use of the WHO curves should assist in prevention of inappropriate intervention or overfeeding in young children.