Vitamin C increases the fecal fat excretion by chitosan in guinea-pigs, thereby reducing body weight gain

Chitosan and its oligosaccharide accelerate colonic motility and reverse serum metabolites in rats after excessive protein consumption

Excessive protein consumption (EPC) could increase the gastrointestinal burden and impair gut motility. The present study was designed to explore the improvement of chitosan (CTS) and chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) on colonic motility and serum metabolites in rats after EPC. The results of in vivo experiments fully proved that CTS and COS could improve gut motility and reverse the serum metabolites in rats as indicated by LC-MS/MS analysis, and the COS group even showed a better effect than the CTS group. Furthermore, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which could promote gut motility, were also increased to alleviate EPC-induced constipation after supplementation with CTS or COS. In addition, CTS and COS could decrease the concentration of ammonia in serum and down-regulate the levels of H2S and indole. In summary, the present study revealed that CTS and COS could produce SCFAs, improve the colonic motility in rats, reverse the levels of valine, adenosine, cysteine, 1-methyladenosine, indole, and uracil, and enhance aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis and valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation. The present study provides novel insights into the potential roles of CTS and COS in alleviating the adverse effects of EPC.

Drying dynamics of pellet feces

Pellet feces are generated by a number of animals important to science or agriculture, including mice, rats, goats, and wombats. Understanding the factors that lead to fecal shape may provide a better understanding of animal health and diet. In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we test the hypothesis that pellet feces are formed by drying processes in the intestine. Inspirational to our work is the formation of hexagonal columnar jointings in cooling lava beds, in which the width L of the hexagon scales as L ∼ J^-1 where J is the heat flux from the bed. Across 22 species of mammals, we report a transition from cylindrical to pellet feces if fecal water content drops below 0.65. Using a mathematical model that accounts for water intake rate and intestinal dimensions, we show pellet feces length L scales as L ∼ J^-2.08 where J is the flux of water absorbed by the intestines. We build a mimic of the mammalian intestine using a corn starch cake drying in an open trough, finding that corn starch pellet length scales with water flux^-0.46. The range of exponents does not permit us to conclude that formation of columnar jointings is similar to the formation of pellet feces. Nevertheless, the methods and physical picture shown here may be of use to physicians and veterinarians interested in using feces length as a marker of intestinal health.

Potential Efficacy of Bacillus coagulans BACO-17 to Modulate Gut Microbiota in Rats Fed High-Fat Diet

This study aimed to evaluate the potential efficacy of Bacillus coagulans BACO-17 in ameliorating body fat accumulation as well as gut microbiota dysbiosis in animals, which were given a high-fat diet to mimic the adverse effect of an unhealthy dietary pattern. Compared with normal control, high-fat consumption resulted in significant (p < 0.05) elevations in weight gain (168%), feed efficiency (176%), visceral fat accumulation (228%), and a lesser total fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) (−27.5%). A significant shift of fecal Fimicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio from 1.13 to 3.14 was also observed. After 12 weeks of experiment, a supplementation of B. coagulans BACO-17 at high dose (9 log CFU/day) along with a high-fat diet could exert an apparent fat reduction ability by decreasing weight gain (by 23.7%) and visceral fat mass (by 24.0%). It was found that B. coagulans BACO-17 was able to increase fecal SCFA concentrations and revert Fimicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio back to the level comparable with the normal control. It could play a probiotic effect by increasing and decreasing the abundance of Muribaculaceae and Allobaculum, respectively. Therefore, a supplementation of adequate amount of B. coagulans BACO-17 might confer a concreted amelioration of deteriorated bacteria profiles and body fat accumulation due to high-fat consumption.

Inclusion of Fructooligosaccharide and Resistant Maltodextrin in High Fat Diets Promotes Simultaneous Improvements on Body Fat Reduction and Fecal Parameters

This study investigated the effects of incorporating a mixture of fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and resistant maltodextrin (RMD) at a ratio of 1:2 on body fat accumulation and fecal bacterial parameters in rats. Our results indicated that high dietary fat consumption might effectively (p < 0.05) increase body fat, but consequently inducing a significantly (p < 0.05) higher growth of C. perfringens and retarded growth (p < 0.05) of the Bifidobacterium spp. in the large intestine. As compared with the high fat control, an incorporation of the FOS and RMD mixture at a high dose (0.97 and 1.94 g/kg body weight, respectively) could result in a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in feed efficiency (−16%), total visceral fat (−17.4%), non-visceral fat levels (−20.3%), and total body fat (−19.2%). Furthermore, feeding the FOS and RMD mixture at a high dose was capable to counter the above undesirable impacts by reducing the C. perfringens count (−14.8%) and increasing the total Bifidobacterium count (134.4%) and total fecal short chain fatty acids (195.4%). A supplementation of adequate amount of FOS and RMD might confer a concreted solution to the obesity and deteriorated fecal bacteria profiles due to high fat consumption.

Comparative effects of vitamin D and vitamin C supplementations with and without endurance physical activity on metabolic syndrome patients: a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

Vitamin D and C levels have inverse relation with the metabolic syndrome components and they are used as antioxidant supplements during enduring metabolic activities. In the present study, we hypothesized that the intake of vitamin D and/or C with endurance physical activity might reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome.

METHODS

A randomized control study recruited 180 participants of both genders, aged between 30 and 50 years. The participants were assigned into six groups receiving different doses of vitamin D or vitamin C with or without physical activities. Data were collected over a period of 3 months, and the results were analyzed using SPSS version 20.

RESULTS

Variations in the effect of the supplements on various body variables including: Fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood pressure, showed that vitamin D has more influence compared to vitamin C. However, vitamin D and C supplements do not have any effect on weight when consumers are undergoing endurance physical exercise. But vitamin C consumer group has more effect in waist circumference, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein, as compared to vitamin D consumer group.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that, consumption of vitamin D or vitamin C supplements may improves the life of metabolic syndrome patients. However, the combination of physical activities and vitamin supplements maximize the effect, and this combination should be recommended.Trial registration WHO-ICTRP IRCT20161110030823N2. Registered 01 February 2018. http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=IRCT20161110030823N2.

Dietary supplementation with phytosterol and ascorbic acid reduces body mass accumulation and alters food transit time in a diet-induced obesity mouse model

Previous research indicates that animals fed a high fat (HF) diet supplemented with disodium ascorbyl phytostanyl phosphate (DAPP) exhibit reduced mass accumulation when compared to HF control. This compound is a water-soluble phytostanol ester and consists of a hydrophobic plant stanol covalently bonded to ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). To provide insight into the mechanism of this response, we examined the in vivo effects of a high fat diet supplemented with ascorbic acid (AA) in the presence and absence of unesterified phytosterols (PS), and set out to establish whether the supplements have a synergistic effect in a diet-induced obesity mouse model. Our data indicate that HF diet supplementation with a combination of 1% w/w phytosterol and 1% w/w ascorbic acid results in reduced mass accumulation, with mean differences in absolute mass between PSAA and HF control of 10.05%; and differences in mass accumulation of 21.6% (i.e. the PSAA group gained on average 21% less mass each week from weeks 7-12 than the HF control group). In our previous study, the absolute mass difference between the 2% DAPP and HF control was 41%, while the mean difference in mass accumulation between the two groups for weeks 7-12 was 67.9%. Mass loss was not observed in animals supplemented with PS or AA alone. These data suggest that the supplements are synergistic with respect to mass accumulation, and the esterification of the compounds further potentiates the response. Our data also indicate that chronic administration of PS, both in the presence and absence of AA, results in changes to fecal output and food transit time, providing insight into the possibility of long-term changes in intestinal function related to PS supplementation.