Long-Term Whole-Body Vibration Stimulus Decreases Body Fat Accumulation in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet.

Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a type of light-resistance exercise that involves exposing the body to rapid and repeated oscillations of a vibrating platform. It has been suggested that long-term WBV can improve bone mass and muscle strength. However, little is known about its effects on body composition, and the safety and efficacy of WBV have not been established. In this study, we investigated the effects of WBV on body fat loss and muscle mass maintenance or improvement in male Wistar rats fed standard or high-fat diets. We also aimed to establish a rat model for future nutritional and physiological studies. We conducted two experiments using male Wistar rats that were 3 weeks old. The rats were randomly divided into two groups: the control group and the vibration group. The rats were fed either a commercial standard diet (Experiment 1) or a high-fat diet (Experiment 2) ad libitum for 8-12 weeks. Our results showed that WBV stimulus dramatically reduced body fat accumulation in rats fed a high-fat diet but not in those fed a standard diet. This suggests that WBV may be particularly effective under dietary conditions that promote obesity. Moreover, WBV increased the mass of several skeletal muscles, which are known to have resistance exercise effects. Our findings indicate that long-term WBV is safe, with no inhibition of growth or feeding. Taken together, our results suggest that WBV may be a promising approach for preventing and treating obesity. Further research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms and to determine the optimal WBV for maximum benefits.

Effects of Dietary Allitol on Body Fat Accumulation in Rats.

Allitol is a rare sugar alcohol obtained by reducing d-allulose (d-psicose). However, information on the effects of long-term dietary allitol intake is limited. This study aimed to investigate the effect of allitol supplementation, as a sugar substitute, on body fat accumulation in rats compared with sucrose, rare sugar d-allulose, or erythritol. Thirty-two male Wistar rats (3 wk old) were fed experimental diets including 5% sucrose, allitol, erythritol, or d-allulose for 8 wk ad libitum. Weight gain, food intake, and food efficiency did not differ among the groups. The total body fat mass and percentage, and intra-abdominal adipose tissue weights were significantly lower in rats fed with the allitol diet than in those fed with the sucrose diet. These body fat indicators tended to be lower in rats fed with the erythritol and d-allulose diets than in those fed with the sucrose diet, but there was no significant difference. The serum glucose-lowering effect obtained in rats fed with the d-allulose diet did not appear in rats fed with the allitol diet. These results suggest that the anti-obesity effect of allitol may be equal to or greater than that of d-allulose.

Dietary Dried Sweetspire (Itea) Powder Reduces Body Fat Accumulation in Rats Fed with a High-fat Diet.

Sweetspire (Itea) is the only plant that accumulates rare sugars d-allulose and allitol. However, no reports have indicated that sweetspire has a beneficial physiological activity in mammalians. We have examined the effect of dietary dried sweetspire powder (SP) on body fat accumulation in rats fed with a high-fat diet. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were randomized into three groups, the control (C), SP, and rare sugar (RS) groups. The SP diet contained 5% SP (contained 0.4% d-allulose and 0.6% allitol in the diet), and the RS diet contained the same amount of rare sugars as the SP diet. All rats were given free access to the experimental diets for 8 weeks. The percentages of intra-abdominal adipose tissue and total body fat were significantly lower in the SP group than in the C group, suggesting that SP has an anti-obesity effect. Furthermore, this anti-obesity effect may be attributed to the rare sugars in SP.

Effect of a fermented brown rice extract on the gastrointestinal function in methotrexate-treated rats.

We investigated the protective effect of a hydrous ethanol extract of brown rice fermented with Aspergillus oryzae (ERF) which contained nucleobases and low fiber on the methotrexate (MTX)-induced gastrointestinal damage in rats. The rats were assigned to three groups: control (CON), MTX, and MTX-ERF. The rats in the CON and MTX groups were fed for 4 weeks on a basal diet, and those in the MTX-ERF group were fed on a 9.16% ERF-containing basal diet. The rats in the MTX and MTX-ERF groups were administered with MTX after 3 weeks. The survival rate and incidence rate of diarrhea were monitored over 1 week. On day 4 after the administration, half of the rats in each group were killed, and gastrointestinal samples were collected. Feeding with ERF improved the incidence rate of diarrhea, increased the protein content in small intestinal mucosa, and also apparently improved the survival rate. These results indicate that dietary ERF could protect against MTX-induced gastrointestinal damage.