High Fat, High Sugar Diet and DJOS Bariatric Surgery Influence Plasma Levels of Fetuin-B, Growth Differentiation Factor-15, and Pentraxin 3 in Diet-Induced Obese Sprague-Dawley Rats

Combination therapy with Hordeum vulgare, Elettaria cardamomum, and Cicer arietinum exhibited anti-diabetic potential through modulation of oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokines

Poly-herbal therapies for chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus (DM) have been practiced in south Asia for centuries. One of such therapies comprises of Hordeum vulgare, Elettaria cardamomum and Cicer arietinum that have shown encouraging therapeutic potential in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Therefore, poly-herbal granules (PHGs) of this formula were developed and investigated for their anti-diabetic and anti-obesity potential in obese-diabetic rats. The developed PHGs were chemical characterized and the virtual molecular docking was performed by Discovery studio visualizer (DSV) software. For in-vivo experiment, obesity in rats was induced with high-fat high-sugar diet. After that, diabetes was induced by alloxan monohydrate 150 mg/kg i.p. injection. The diseased rats were treated with PHGs at 250, 500 and 750 mg/kg/day for four weeks. GC-MS analysis of PHGs demonstrated the presence of 1,3-Benzenedicarboxylic acid bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester and 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid di-isooctyl ester and phenol, 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl). Molecular docking of these compounds demonstrated higher binding energies with receptor than metformin against α-amylase and α-glucosidase. PHGs exhibited a decline in body weight, HbA1c, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance in diseased rats. The histopathological examination revealed that PHGs improved the alloxan-induced damage to the pancreas. Furthermore, PHGs increased the SOD, CAT and GSH while and the decreased the level of MDA in the liver, kidney and pancreas of diseased rats. Additionally, the PHGs had significantly downregulated the TNF-α and NF-κB while upregulated the expression of NrF-2. The current study demonstrated that the PHGs exhibited anti-diabetic and anti-obesity potential through amelioration of oxidative stress, NF-κB, TNF-α, and NrF-2 due to the presence of different phytochemicals.

Sugar-Rich Food Intake Is Negatively Associated with Plasma Pentraxin 3 Levels

Background

Levels of pentraxin 3 (PTX3), an anti-inflammatory cardioprotective protein, increase after weight loss in obese men and aerobic exercise in non-obese adults. However, the effect of nutritional characteristics on PTX3 levels remains unclear. This population-based, cross-sectional study investigated the association between circulating PTX3 levels and food intake in Japanese adults.

Methods

We hypothesized that the consumption of high amounts of high-sugar foods would lead to low plasma PTX3 levels, resulting in obesity. This study included 327 participants categorized depending on the consumption of the recommended amount of confectionary and sugar-sweetened beverages (CSSB) into high and low groups.

Results

PTX3 levels were significantly lower in the high CSSB group than in the low CSSB group. Biological sex was the strongest effector of PTX3 levels. Moreover, the intake of Tsukudani and CSSB, as well as some metabolic syndrome factors, also affect PTX3 levels. In the groups categorized by sex and age, the determinants of PTX3 levels differed. Body mass index, waist circumference (WC), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were significantly associated with PTX3 levels in women. Tsukudani, HDL-C, heart rate, saturated fatty acids, systolic blood pressure, and CSSB were associated with PTX3 levels in individuals aged >65 years.

Conclusion

Our results show that circulating PTX3 levels are affected by sex, sugar-rich foods, and metabolic syndrome characteristics (WC, HDL-C).

Effective Interventions in Obesity: Current Evidence and Concepts

This Special Issue, entitled "Specialized Diet, Obesity and Associated Metabolic Disorders" in the section "Clinical Nutrition" of Nutrients, addresses the metabolic changes that occur in humans as a result of the so-called western lifestyle [...].

Duodenojejunal Omega Switch Surgery Reduces Oxidative Stress Induced by Cafeteria Diet in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Over-nutrition with cafeteria diet leads to glycemic control failure and subsequent obesity. Bariatric surgery remains the ultimate treatment option, and when complemented with specific dietary protocol, it may mitigate the effects of oxidative stress induced by a cafeteria diet. The study measured antioxidant marker activity: superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and ceruloplasmin (CER), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and lipid peroxidation marker concentrations: lipofuscin (LS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), in the plasma of 56 Sprague-Dawley rats fed with a cafeteria (HFS) or a control (CD) diet and subjected to duodenojejunal omega switch (DJOS) or control (SHAM) surgery. The diet change after the surgery (CD/HFS or HFS/CD) strongly influenced SOD activity in DJOS- and SHAM-operated rats, but SOD activity was always higher in SHAM-operated rats. Every dietary protocol used in the study increased CER activity, except for the CD/CD combination. Cafeteria diet consumed before or after either of surgeries led to decrease in TAC levels. DJOS and no change in diet reduced MDA levels. DJOS reduced LS levels, but its beneficial effect was deteriorated by selected dietary protocols. The cafeteria diet negatively affected the positive impact of DJOS surgery, but SOD, CER, MDA, and LS were significantly lower in rats that underwent DJOS, suggesting that eight weeks of dietary treatment before and after the surgery did not totally dilapidate the effects of the bariatric treatment.