Growth, body composition and hormonal status of growing pigs exhibiting a normal or small weight at birth and exposed to a neonatal diet enriched in proteins.

Small birth weight and excess of early protein intake are suspected to enhance later obesity risk. The present study was undertaken to determine the impact of neonatal diets differing in protein content on growth, body composition and hormonal status of 70-d-old pigs born with normal weight (NW) or small weight (SW). At 7 d of age, male and female suckled piglets were assigned to the NW (approximately 1·4 kg at birth) or SW (approximately 0·99 kg at birth) groups. They were fed milk replacers formulated to provide an adequate protein (AP) or a high protein (HP) supply for 3 weeks. From weaning to 70 d of age, all animals received ad libitum the same standard diet. Growth rates were higher (P < 0·05) in HP piglets than in AP piglets during formula feeding and remained higher (P < 0·05) only in HP male pigs thereafter. No difference in feed consumption was detected between groups during the periods examined. Carcass lipid content and the relative weight of perirenal adipose tissue did not differ between the AP and HP pigs. Whereas plasma leptin concentration was higher (P < 0·05) in HP pigs than in AP pigs with a marked difference in SW pigs, plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I concentration and expression of IGF system genes were not affected by the diets. In summary, a HP intake during the suckling period induced an increase in growth rate that persisted only in male pigs during the post-weaning period. This response was not associated with any difference in adiposity parameters in this period.

Impact of intrauterine growth retardation and early protein intake on growth, adipose tissue, and the insulin-like growth factor system in piglets.

Small birth weight and excess of early protein intake are suspected to enhance later adiposity. The present study was undertaken to determine the impact of diets differing in protein content on short-term growth, adipose tissue development, and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in piglets. Normal (NW) and small (SW) birth weight piglets were fed milk-replacers formulated to provide an adequate (AP) or a high protein (HP) supply between 7 and 28 d of age. The fractional growth rate was higher (p < 0.01) in SW than in NW piglets. At 7 d of age, the lower (p < 0.05) weight of perirenal adipose tissue relative to body mass in SW than in NW piglets did not involve significant changes in plasma IGF-I, leptin, or insulin-like growth factor binding protein levels, but involved differences (p < 0.05) in the expression of IGF-I and leptin in adipose tissue. Growth rates did not differ between AP and HP piglets. At 28 d of age, HP piglets had lower (p < 0.001) relative perirenal adipose tissue weight but did not differ clearly from AP piglets with regard to the IGF system. It remains to be determined whether piglets fed such a high protein intake will stay subsequently with a low adiposity.

Comparison of two oral probiotic preparations in a randomized crossover trial highlights a potentially beneficial effect of Lactobacillus paracasei NCC2461 in patients with allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: There is promising but conflicting evidence to recommend the addition of probiotics to foods for prevention and treatment of allergy. Based on previous studies with fermented milk containing Lactobacillus paracasei NCC2461, we aimed to compare the effect of a powder form of the latter probiotic with the effect of a blend of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC SD5221 and Bifidobacterium lactis ATCC SD5219 in patients with allergic rhinitis. METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, cross-over study, involving 31 adults with allergic rhinitis to grass pollen, was performed outside the grass pollen season (registration number: NCT01233154). Subjects received each product for 4-weeks in two phases separated by a wash-out period of 6 to 8 weeks. A nasal provocation test was performed before and after each 4-week product intake period, and outcome parameters (objective and subjective clinical symptoms; immune parameters) were measured during and/or 24 hours after the test. RESULTS: Out of the 31 subject enrolled, 28 completed the study. While no effect was observed on nasal congestion (primary outcome), treatment with NCC2461 significantly decreased nasal pruritus (determined by VAS), and leukocytes in nasal fluid samples, enhanced IL-5, IL-13 and IL-10 production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in an allergen specific manner and tended to decrease IL-5 secretion in nasal fluid, in contrast to treatment with the blend of L. acidophilus and B. lactis. CONCLUSIONS: Despite short-term consumption, NCC2461 was able to reduce subjective nasal pruritus while not affecting nasal congestion in adults suffering from grass pollen allergic rhinitis. The associated decrease in nasal fluid leukocytes and IL-5 secretion, and the enhanced IL-10 secretion in an allergen specific manner may partly explain the decrease in nasal pruritus. However, somewhat unexpected systemic immune changes were also noted. These data support the study of NCC2461 consumption in a seasonal clinical trial to further demonstrate its potentially beneficial effect.