Apple-Derived Pectin Modulates Gut Microbiota, Improves Gut Barrier Function, and Attenuates Metabolic Endotoxemia in Rats with Diet-Induced Obesity.

This study was aimed at determining potential effects of apple-derived pectin on weight gain, gut microbiota, gut barrier and metabolic endotoxemia in rat models of diet-induced obesity. The rats received a standard diet (control; Chow group; n = 8) or a high-fat diet (HFD; n = 32) for eight weeks to induce obesity. The top 50th percentile of weight-gainers were selected as diet induced obese rats. Thereafter, the Chow group continued on chow, and the diet induced obese rats were randomly divided into two groups and received HFD (HF group; n = 8) or pectin-supplemented HFD (HF-P group; n = 8) for six weeks. Compared to the HF group, the HF-P group showed attenuated weight gain (207.38 ± 7.96 g vs. 283.63 ± 10.17 g, p < 0.01) and serum total cholesterol level (1.46 ± 0.13 mmol/L vs. 2.06 ± 0.26 mmol/L, p < 0.01). Compared to the Chow group, the HF group showed a decrease in Bacteroidetes phylum and an increase in Firmicutes phylum, as well as subordinate categories (p < 0.01). These changes were restored to the normal levels in the HF-P group. Furthermore, compared to the HF group, the HF-P group displayed improved intestinal alkaline phosphatase (0.57 ± 0.20 vs. 0.30 ± 0.19, p < 0.05) and claudin 1 (0.76 ± 0.14 vs. 0.55 ± 0.18, p < 0.05) expression, and decreased Toll-like receptor 4 expression in ileal tissue (0.76 ± 0.58 vs. 2.04 ± 0.89, p < 0.01). The HF-P group also showed decreased inflammation (TNFα: 316.13 ± 7.62 EU/mL vs. 355.59 ± 8.10 EU/mL, p < 0.01; IL-6: 51.78 ± 2.35 EU/mL vs. 58.98 ± 2.59 EU/mL, p < 0.01) and metabolic endotoxemia (2.83 ± 0.42 EU/mL vs. 0.68 ± 0.14 EU/mL, p < 0.01). These results suggest that apple-derived pectin could modulate gut microbiota, attenuate metabolic endotoxemia and inflammation, and consequently suppress weight gain and fat accumulation in diet induced obese rats.

GLP-2 Prevents Intestinal Mucosal Atrophy and Improves Tissue Antioxidant Capacity in a Mouse Model of Total Parenteral Nutrition.

We investigated the effects of exogenous glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) on mucosal atrophy and intestinal antioxidant capacity in a mouse model of total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Male mice (6-8 weeks old) were divided into three groups (n = 8 for each group): a control group fed a standard laboratory chow diet, and experimental TPN (received standard TPN solution) and TPN + GLP-2 groups (received TPN supplemented with 60 µg/day of GLP-2 for 5 days). Mice in the TPN group had lower body weight and reduced intestinal length, villus height, and crypt depth compared to the control group (all p < 0.05). GLP-2 supplementation increased all parameters compared to TPN only (all p < 0.05). Intestinal total superoxide dismutase activity and reduced-glutathione level in the TPN + GLP-2 group were also higher relative to the TPN group (all p < 0.05). GLP-2 administration significantly upregulated proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression and increased glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) abundance. Compared with the control and TPN + GLP-2 groups, intestinal cleaved caspase-3 was increased in the TPN group (all p < 0.05). This study shows GLP-2 reduces TPN-associated intestinal atrophy and improves tissue antioxidant capacity. This effect may be dependent on enhanced epithelial cell proliferation, reduced apoptosis, and upregulated GRP78 expression.

Peri-operative immunonutrition in patients undergoing liver transplantation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: No consensus has been reached concerning the effects of peri-operative immunonutrition in patients undergoing liver transplantation. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of peri-operative immunonutrition on clinical outcomes and liver function in patients undergoing liver transplantation. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: The Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and google scholar were searched to identify all available randomized controlled studies which compared peri-operative immunonutrition support (glutamine, ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, arginine and ribonucleic acids) with standard nutrition. The data analysis was performed using Revman 5.2 software. RESULTS: A total of 7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 501 patients were included. Peri-operative immunonutrition significantly reduced the risk of infectious complications (RR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.98, p=0.04) and shortened the postoperative hospital stay [weighted mean difference (WMD): -3.89; 95% CI: -7.42 to -0.36; p=0.03]. Furthermore, perioperative immunonutrition improved liver function by decreasing the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the blood (WMD: -25.4; 95% CI: -39.9 to -10.9, p=0.0006). However, we did not find statistically significant differences in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin (TB) and direct bilirubin (DB) levels. There were no statistically significant differences in mortality and rejection reaction. CONCLUSIONS: Peri-operative nutrition support adding immunonutrients like glutamine, ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, arginine and ribonucleic acids may improve outcomes in patients undergoing liver transplantation. Due to the limited sample size of the included trials, further large-scale and rigorously designed RCTs are needed.

Use of n-3 PUFAs can decrease the mortality in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: There have been several meta-analyses evaluating the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in critically ill patients, but of these, none focused on patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs) on this narrow subset. METHODS: All relevant articles were searched on MEDLINE, EMBASE, SpringerLink, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from 1990 to 2014. Meta-analyses were used to evaluate risk ratios and mean differences with 95% confidence intervals between the n-3 PUFA group and the control group. Subgroup analyses were conducted in terms of the route of fish oil. RESULTS: Nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 783 adult patients were included in this study. Compared with control groups, n-3 FA provision can significantly reduce the incidence of mortality (RR: 0.77 [0.60, 0.97]; P=0.03; I2=0%). Secondary outcomes showed no significant differences between groups except for shorter length of hospital stay (weighted mean difference: -10.56 [-19.76, -1.36], p<0.00001, I2=99%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this meta-analysis from RCTs indicates that provision of n-3 PUFAs has a therapeutic effect on survival rate in patients with SIRS.