Oral Angiotensin-(1-7) Peptide Modulates Intestinal Microbiota Improving Metabolic Profile in Obese Mice.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a serious health problem that dysregulate Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) and intestinal microbiota. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to evaluate the Angiotensin-(1-7) [ANG-(1-7)] oral formulation effects on obese mice intestinal microbiota. METHODS: Mice were divided into four groups: obese and non-obese treated with ANG-(1-7) and obese and non-obese without ANG-(1-7) during four weeks. RESULTS: We observed a significant decrease in the fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and Low-density lipoprotein levels and increased High-density lipoprotein in animals treated with ANG-(1-7). The histological analysis showed intestinal villi height reduction in mice treated with ANG-(1-7). Additionally, increased Bacteroidetes and decreased Firmicutes (increased Bacteroidetes/ Firmicutes ratio) and Enterobacter cloacae populations were observed in the High-Fat Diet + ANG-(1-7) group. Receptor toll-like 4 (TLR4) intestinal mRNA expression was reduced in the HFD+ANG-(1-7) group. Finally, the intestinal expression of the neutral amino acid transporter (B0AT1) was increased in animals treated with ANG-(1-7), indicating a possible mechanism associated with tryptophan uptake. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest for the first time an interaction between oral ANG-(1-7) and intestinal microbiota modulation.

Diet Supplementation with Madagascar Cockroach Flour (Gromphadorhina portentosa) Improved Malnourished Mice Metabolism and Ameliorated Liver Inflammatory Markers.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition and accessible high-quality protein food sources are two of the world's alimentary challenges. Edible insects are nowadays recognized as a possible functional food solution with lower environmental impacts and beneficial health effects. OBJECTIVE: In this context, the aim of the present study is to evaluate Madagascar cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) flour supplementation effects on a malnourished mice model, considering its effects on metabolism, adiposity, and inflammatory liver profiles. METHOD: Male Swiss mice are divided into five groups and fed with experimental diets for eight weeks, including a standard diet (ST) ad libitum, AIN93 ad libitum (AIN), insect flour-enriched AIN93 (AIN+IM), AIN-40% feed restriction (AIN-FR), and insect flour-enriched AIN-40% of feed restriction (AIN-FR+IM). The metabolic profiles, adipose tissue, biochemical parameters, and liver IL-6 and IL-10 expression are evaluated. RESULTS: The main findings show a body weight and metabolism improvement followed by an increased recovery of the adipocyte area in the AIN-FR+IM group when compared to the AIN-FR malnourished group. Reduced hepatic IL-6 and increased IL-10 expression are also detected in the AIN-FR+IM group. CONCLUSION: The results show that insect flour supplementation enhances both body weight and adiposity gain/recovery. The results also show hepatic improvement of inflammatory markers.

Elaboration, evaluation of nutritional information and physical-chemical stability of dairy fermented drink with caja-mango pulp / Elaboração, avaliação de informação nutricional e estabilidade físico-química de bebida láctea fermentada com polpa de cajá-manga

ABSTRACT: Whey is a by-product of the dairy industry of great importance due to its high nutritional value, and can be used for the manufacture of fermented dairy drinks which, combined with fruit, increase the nutritional value and add characteristic flavors. Therefore, a fermented dairy beverage with caja-mango pulp (Spondias dulcis) was elaborated and its nutritional information as well as the physical-chemical stability were evaluated during storage. The results showed that the nutritional information met the requirements stipulated by the Brazilian legislation. The physical-chemical stability of the dairy fermented drink in terms of pH, acidity, syneresis and sedimentation was influenced by the storage time, possibly associated with uncontrolled factors in this study, such as the initial and final dairy culture concentration of the processed product, protein biodegradation during storage and low solids contents. It is concluded that the elaborated drink constitutes a food source of several nutrients, and may complement the daily diet of children, adolescents and adults, supplying nutritional deficiencies.

RESUMO: O soro lácteo é um subproduto da indústria de laticínios de grande importância devido ao seu alto valor nutritivo, podendo ser utilizado para fabricação de bebida láctea fermentada que, associada a frutas, aumenta o valor nutricional e agrega sabores característicos. A partir disso, foi elaborada uma bebida láctea fermentada adicionada de polpa de cajá-manga (Spondias dulcis), sendo avaliada sua informação nutricional bem como a estabilidade físico-química, durante o armazenamento. Os resultados mostram que a informação nutricional atendeu os requisitos estipulados pela legislação brasileira. A estabilidade físico-química da bebida, quanto aos parâmetros analisados de pH, acidez, sinerese e sedimentação, sofreu influência pelo o tempo de armazenamento, possivelmente, associados a fatores não controlados neste estudo como a concentração de cultura láctea iniciadora e final do produto elaborado, a biodegradação de proteínas durante a estocagem e baixos teores de sólidos. Conclui-se que a bebida elaborada constitui um alimento fonte de diversos nutrientes, e poderá complementar a alimentação diária de crianças, adolescentes e adultos, suprindo as carências nutricionais.

The usefulness of short-term high-fat/high salt diet as a model of metabolic syndrome in mice.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC) describes diabetes-associated changes in the structure and function of myocardium that are not directly linked to other factors such as hypertension. Currently there are some models of DC; however, they take a large time period to mimic key features. In the present study, we investigated the effects of a short-term high-fat/high salt diet (HFHS) treatment on myocardial function and structure, and vascular reactivity in C57BL/6 male mice. After 14 weeks HFHS induced hypertension (MAP = 144.95 ±â€¯16.13 vs 92.90 ±â€¯18.95 mm Hg), low glucose tolerance (AUC = 1049.01 ±â€¯74.79 vs 710.50 ±â€¯52.57 a.u.), decreased insulin sensitivity (AUC = 429.83 ±â€¯35.22 vs 313.67 ±â€¯19.55 a.u.) and increased adiposity (epididymal fat weight 0.96 ±â€¯0.10 vs 0.59 ±â€¯0.06 OW/BW × 102), aspects present in metabolic syndrome. Cardiac evaluation showed diastolic dysfunction (E/A ratio = 1.20 vs 1.90 u.a.) and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy (cardiomyocyte area = 502.82 ±â€¯31.46 vs 385.58 ±â€¯22.11 µm2). Lastly, vascular reactivity was impaired with higher contractile response (136.10 ±â€¯3.49 vs 120.37 ±â€¯5.43%) and lower response to endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation (74.01 ±â€¯4.35 vs 104.84 ±â€¯3.57%). In addition, the diet was able to induce an inward coronary remodeling (vascular total area: SCNS 6185 ±â€¯800.6 vs HFHS 4085 ±â€¯213.7 µm2). Therefore, we conclude that HFHS short-term treatment was able to induce metabolic syndrome-like state, cardiomyopathy and vascular injury working as an important tool to study cardiometabolic diseases.

Total combining power: Technique for the evaluation of the quality control process of clostridiosis vaccines.

An efficient technique for evaluation of the quality control of vaccines against clostridiosis is described in this study. This technique is capable of quantifying the toxoid of the bacterium Clostridium perfringens Type D, which is commonly found within these vaccines. The described method is performed in vivo to quantify the toxoid, replacing the current predominant approaches that use the titration of toxins before the inactivation process. This method is based on the partial neutralization of a determined dose of antitoxin by testing different doses of the toxoid. In order to guarantee its reliability, it is essential for the technique to be validated. Thus, the technique was tested using the following validation parameters: specificity and selectivity, detection limit, linear correlation, precision and robustness, in agreement with the requirements of regulatory agencies and international committees from around the world. The method was found to be specific, selective, robust, precise, and linear inside a specific concentration range. Therefore, it could be applied to the quality control of clostridiosis vaccines with satisfactory results.

Adsorption of immunoglobulin Y in supermacroporous continuous cryogel with immobilized Cu(2+) ions.

The influence of temperature, pH and ionic strength on the adsorption of Immunoglobulin Y (IgY) in IDA-Cu(2+) cryogel system was studied by batch equilibrium measurements. The adsorptive equilibrium data were obtained at 17 and 27°C, pH 5.0 and 6.5, and at ionic strength of 50 and 200mmolL(-1) NaCl. Langmuir, Freundlich and Langmuir-Freundlich models were fitted to equilibrium data, while the enthalpy of adsorption of IgY in IDA-Cu(2+) cryogel system was calculated through Van't Hoff analysis. The binding of IgY on cryogel was stronger at 27°C and lowest pH and ionic strength values, with apparent maximum adsorption capacity of 27mgg(-1). The adsorption of protein in the resin was spontaneous in all analyzed cases. The results provide valuable information to enable the improvement of IgY purification processes.

Rapid detection of whey in milk powder samples by spectrophotometric and multivariate calibration.

A rapid method for the detection and quantification of the adulteration of milk powder by the addition of whey was assessed by measuring glycomacropeptide protein using mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR). Fluid milk samples were dried and then spiked with different concentrations of GMP and whey. Calibration models were developed using multivariate techniques, from spectral data. For the principal component analysis and discriminant analysis, excellent percentages of correct classification were achieved in accordance with the increase in the proportion of whey samples. For partial least squares regression analysis, the correlation coefficient (r) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) in the best model were 0.9885 and 1.17, respectively. The rapid analysis, low cost monitoring and high throughput number of samples tested per unit time indicate that MIR spectroscopy may hold potential as a rapid and reliable method for detecting milk powder frauds using cheese whey.