Effects of high-fiber rice Dodamssal (Oryza sativa L.) on glucose and lipid metabolism in mice fed a high-fat diet

Effects of tomato ketchup and tomato paste extract on hepatic lipid accumulation and adipogenesis

Tomatoes include high levels of lycopene, which is a potent antioxidative, hypolipidemic, and antidiabetic phytochemical. The intake of lycopene is associated with a reduced risk of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate whether tomato ketchup and tomato paste, major dietary sources for tomato and lycopene, could regulate hepatic lipid metabolism and adipogenesis. To investigate the regulatory effects of tomato ketchup and tomato paste, we prepared a tomato ketchup extract (TKE) and a tomato paste extract (TPE) in 80% (v/v) ethyl acetate for the experiment. TKE and TPE reduced lipid accumulation and key markers for gluconeogenesis and induced a higher rate of fatty acid oxidation in HepG2 hepatocytes. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, TKE and TPE increased adipogenesis and intracellular triglyceride accumulation, and stimulated glucose uptake. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha and gamma expression levels were increased by TKE and TPE treatment. A single oral dose of tomato ketchup and tomato paste (9.28 g/kg) significantly improved glucose and insulin tolerance in mice. These findings suggest that lycopene-containing tomato ketchup and tomato paste may have beneficial regulatory effects in terms of energy metabolism in hepatocytes and adipocytes, and thus may improve blood glucose metabolism.

Physicochemical properties and freeze-thaw stability of rice flour blends among rice cultivars with different amylose contents

The effectiveness of the rice flour blends (RFB) for improving the processing suitability of Dodamssal rice flour (DD), a functional rice variety with a relatively high amylose and resistance starch content, was investigated. Physicochemical properties and freeze-thaw stability of RFB composed of DD and four rice flour (RF) samples with different amylose contents were measured at different DD ratios. DD, which has low swelling power and low pasting viscosity properties, has improved some quality in terms of physicochemical properties by blending with other RF. Especially, non-additive behavior was observed in the blend with Geonyang No.2 RF (GY), a medium waxy variety, due to water competition caused by the difference in pasting temperature. The syneresis of DD was reduced by blending with 75% Hanareum No. 4 RF, with a gradual reduction effect observed following a repeated freeze-thaw cycle. GY significantly improved the low freeze-thaw stability of DD with only a 25% blend.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-021-00989-7.

Highland Barley Whole Grain (Hordeum vulgare L.) Ameliorates Hyperlipidemia by Modulating Cecal Microbiota, miRNAs, and AMPK Pathways in Leptin Receptor-Deficient db/db Mice

The mechanisms of highland barley whole grain (BWG) with rich phenolics on obese db/db mice were investigated in this study. Oral consumption of BWG reduced food intake, body weight, organ/body weight indexes of liver and fat, levels of serum and hepatic lipids, liver injury, and oxidative stress. Furthermore, BWG recovered the disorder of cecal microbiota by augmenting the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio and Alistipes abundance and decreasing the abundances of Bacteroides and Desulfovibrionaceae to modulate lipid metabolism-related genes. BWG inhibited fatty acid biosynthesis via upregulating the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase α, while downregulating sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c, fatty acid synthase (FAS), and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 levels. BWG also significantly downregulated miRNA-122, miRNA-33, miRNA-34a, and miRNA-206 levels. Accordingly, BWG exhibited hypolipidemic potential through modulating cecal microbiota, AMPK/SREBP-1c/FAS pathway, and related miRNAs, triggering the alleviation of dyslipidemia. These findings suggested BWG as an effective candidate to ameliorate the symptoms of hyperlipidemia.

IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway and miRNAs are involved in whole grain highland barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) ameliorating hyperglycemia of db/db mice

The present investigation further unravels the underlying molecular mechanism of WGH on T2DM: IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway and related miRNA expression.