Food restriction and refeeding induces changes in lipid pathways and fat deposition in the adipose and hepatic tissues in rats with diet-induced obesity

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effect of fermented soy product on the fecal microbiota of rats fed on a beef-based animal diet

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Nutritional Responses of Rats to Diets Based on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Seed Meal or Its Protein Fractions

The aim of this study was to isolate the protein fractions from chickpea, var. IAC-Marrocos, as well as to evaluate its in vivo nutritional protein quality. Among the proteins, albumins showed better nutritional value in the in vivo assays and amino acid contents, despite their higher trypsin inhibitor contents. Trypsin inhibitors were found to be heat labile in all samples, but the digestibility results for unheated and heated flour and albumins suggest that their contents are not very decisive. The PER values for casein (not supplemented) were very similar to those of heated flour and unheated or heated albumin and total globulins. The albumin and glutelin fractions showed the best results for PDCAAS, however, lower than those of casein. Despite the high digestibility of the globulin the very low essential amino acid content lowered its PDCAAS, and it had the lowest values.

Soy beta-Conglycinin (7S Globulin) Reduces Plasma and Liver Cholesterol in Rats Fed Hypercholesterolemic Diet

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Soybean glycinin improves HDL-C and suppresses the effects of rosuvastatin on hypercholesterolemic rats

Background: This study was an investigation of the effects of ingesting a daily dose of isolated glycinin soy protein (11S globulin), in association with rosuvastatin, on the control of hypercholesterolemia in experimental animals.Methods: Male Wistar rats were kept in individual cages under appropriate controlled conditions of temperature, light and humidity. The animals were divided into five groups (n = 9): 1) standard (STD): fed on casein as protein source; 2) hypercholesterolemic (HC): STD plus 1% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid; 3) HC+11S: hypercholesterolemic + glycinin (300 mg/kg/day); 4) HC+ROS: hypercholesterolemic + rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg/day); 5) HC+11S+ROS: HC diet, the 11S protein and the drug in the doses given in (3) and (4). The protein and the drug were administered by gavage for 28 days. The results indicated that the addition of 1% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid induced hypercholesterolemia in the animals without interfering with their weight gain.Results: A single daily dose of glycinin contributed an additional 2.8% of dietary protein intake and demonstrated its functional role, particularly in raising HDL-C, decreasing triglycerides in the liver and improving the atherogenic index in animals exposed to a hypercholesterolemic diet.Conclusion: Most of the beneficial effects of the isolated treatments disappeared when the drug (rosuvastatin) and the protein (glycinin) were taken simultaneously. The association was shown not to interact additively, as noted in the plasma levels of total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, and in the significant increase of cholesterol in the liver. Studies are in progress to identify the effects of peptides derived from the 11S globulin and their role in cholesterol metabolism.

A potential synbiotic product improves the lipid profile of diabetic rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

beta-Conglycinin (7S) and glycinin (11S) exert a hypocholesterolemic effect comparable to that of fenofibrate in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Evaluation of the spouted bed dried leaf extract of Bauhinia forficata for the treatment of experimental diabetes in rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The effects of oral glutamine on cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats

The antioxidant activity of the amino acid glutamine was investigated to obtain protection against peroxidative damage in rat kidney and nephrotoxicity induced by the treatment with a single dose of the antitumoral cisplatin (5 mg kg(-1) body weight). The animals were divided into four treatment and control groups of six rats each (n = 6). Cisplatin was injected i.p. and glutamine (300 mg kg(-1) body weight) was given by gavage 24 h before the cisplatin injection. After 24 h and 7 days of cisplatin administration, the rats were sacrificed. A single dose of cisplatin resulted in significant reduction in body weight and creatinine clearance, and higher urinary volumes were observed in all groups treated with this antitumor drug (P < 0.05). Renal tissue from cisplatin-treated rats showed an increase in malondialdehyde production and increase in glutathione contents 24 h and 7 days after cisplatin administration. Pretreatment of rats with glutamine substantially inhibited the increase in the levels of renal glutathione induced by cisplatin 24 h after the i.p. injection. The malondialdehyde, in the renal tissues was significantly reduced 7 days after cisplatin treatment. However, the reduction in the peroxidative damage did not reach the value of the control group. The protective effects obtained by glutamine pretreatment in peroxidative alterations were not observed in the other parameters studied. These results suggest that glutamine partially protect against cisplatin-induced lipid peroxidation damage, but it was not enough to inhibit cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cissus sicyoides (princess vine) in the long-term treatment of streptozotocin-diabetic rats

Leaf decoctions of Cissus sicyoides (princess vine) are taken widely as a popular remedy for diabetes mellitus in Brazil, where its common name is 'vegetal insulin'. However, there have been practically no attempts so far to determine scientifically whether it has antidiabetic effects and we decided to administer leaf decoctions, over extended periods, to normal and streptozotocin-diabetic rats, and investigate the effects of this treatment on the physiological and metabolic parameters that are altered in diabetic animals. The experimental model adopted was shown to be appropriate by running a parallel treatment with insulin, which led to expected improvements in several abnormal parameter values. The decoction treatment significantly reduced the intake of both food and fluid and the volume of urine excreted, as well as the levels of blood glucose, urinary glucose and urinary urea, in comparison with controls. Lipid metabolism was not affected by the treatment; nor was the level of hepatic glycogen in diabetic animals, which indicated that the mechanism responsible for the improvement in carbohydrate metabolism, observed in animals treated with the decoction, could not involve inhibition of glycogenolysis and/or stimulation of glycogenesis. The fact that normal animals treated with C. sicyoides exhibited no changes in any of the measured parameters suggests that its mode of action in diabetic animals does not resemble those of sulphonylurea or insulin. It may, however, act in a similar way to biguanide, via inhibition of gluconeogenesis.

Matemal separation affects cocaine-induced locomotion and response to novelty in adolescent, but not in adult rats

Maternal separation is known to exert long-term effects on both behavior and the neuroendocrine system. We investigated cocaine-induced locomotor activation as well as the locomotor and corticosterone response to forced novelty in maternally separated adolescent and adult rats. Maternal separation consisted of separating litters from their darns daily during 5 h from postnatal days 2 to 6. Control animals were subjected only to regular cage changes. Cocaine- (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and novelty-induced locomotion were recorded in an activity cage. After the animals were tested for behavioral response to novelty, trunk blood samples were collected and plasma corticosterone levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. Adolescent rats exposed to maternal separation exhibited an increased locomotor response to novelty and cocaine; corticosterone levels were lower in these adolescent animals, after exposure to the novel environment. These effects of materrial separation were not observed in rats that were tested as adults. Thus the maternal separation protocol produced enduring but transient changes in the behavioral response to cocaine and in the stress response to novelty. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differential behavioral and neuroendocrine effects of repeated nicotine in adolescent and adult rats

Despite the high prevalence of tobacco abuse among adolescents, the neurobiology of nicotine addiction has been studied mainly in adult animals. Repeated administration of this drug to adult rats induces behavioral sensitization. Nicotine activates the HPA axis in adult rats as measured by drug-induced increases in ACTH and corticosterone. Both behavioral sensitization and corticosterone are implicated in drug addiction. We examined the expression of behavioral sensitization induced by nicotine as well as the changes in corticosterone levels after repeated injections of nicotine in adolescent and adult animals. Adolescent and adult rats received subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of saline or 0.4 mg/kg of nicotine once daily for 7 days. Three days after the last injection animals were challenged with saline or nicotine (0.4 mg/kg; s.c.). Nicotine-induced locomotion was recorded in an activity cage. Trunk blood samples were collected in a subset of adolescent and adult rats and plasma corticosterone levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. Adult, but not adolescent, rats expressed behavioral sensitization. Pretreatment with nicotine abolished corticosterone-activating effect of this drug only in adult animals, indicating the development of tolerance at this age. Our results provide evidence that adolescent rats exposed to repeated nicotine display behavioral and neuroendocrine adaptations distinct from that observed in adult animals. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of a novel soy fermented product enriched with isoflavones and calcium on bone tissue of rats.

The objective was to evaluate the effect of soy fermented product intake on the corporal weight and bone tissue of ovariectomized mature rats. This product was fermented with Enterococcusfaecium and Lactobacillus jugurti and enriched with isoflavones and calcium. The animals were divided in 5 groups: sham-ovariectomized; ovariectomized; ovariectomized treated with soy fermented product enriched with isoflavones and calcium; ovariectomized treated with soy fermented product enriched with calcium and ovariectomized treated with nonfermented product enriched only with calcium. In order to evaluate the effect of the tested product on bone tissue (femur and tibia), the following parameters were analyzed: length; mechanical assay of three points; density (Archimedes principle); mineral content; calcium content; measure of the trabecular widths. The corporal weight of group treated with soy fermented product containing isoflavones and calcium showed no statistical difference from sham-ovariectomized group and trabecular widths tended to have larger than ovariectomized group. However, there was no significant difference to the other evaluated parameters in result of the diverse treatments. Thus, soy fermented product enriched with isoflavones and calcium inhibited the increasing of corporal weight caused by ovariectomy and revealed a tendency to trabecular protection after castration.

Influence of extracts of Stryphnodendron polyphyllum Mart. and Stryphnodendron obovatum Benth. on the cicatrisation of cutaneous wounds in rats

Stem bark of the two species Stryphnodendron polyphyllum Mart. and Stryphnodendron obovatum Benth., Leguminosae, was investigated for wound healing, antibacterial and antioxidant activity. These plants contain 12 and 19% tannins in their stem bark, respectively, and are widely used in traditional medicine in Brazil. The total content of phenolics of the crude extract (CE) of Stryphnodendron obovatum was 76.95 +/- 2.98% (CV = 3.87%) and of the ethyl-acetate fraction (EAF) was 89.13 +/- 0.34% (CV = 0.38%); whereas in Stryphnodendron polyphyllum the CE phenolics content was 51.62 +/- 1.53% (CV = 2.96%) and the EAF phenolics content was 59.00 +/- 1.91% (CV = 3.24%). The tannin content of CE from Stryphnodendron obovatum [36.58 +/- 0.35% (CV = 0.98%)] was about 11% higher than in CE from Stryphnodendron polyphyllum [25.43 +/- 0.96% (CV = 3.77%)]. The difference between the species was even greater in the EAF: in Stryphnodendron obovatum the EAF phenolics content was 55.01 +/- 0.36% (CV = 0.65%), whereas in Stryphnodendron polyphyllum the content was 36.16 +/- 0.42% (CV = 1.16%). The healing effect of ointments containing 2.5% crude lyophilised extract (PCE) and 2.5% ethyl-acetate lyophilised fraction (PEA) of the stem bark of Stryphnodendron polyphyllum and Stryphnodendron obovatum was studied in cutaneous wounds of Wistar((R)) rats after 4, 7 and 10 days of treatment. Epithelial cell proliferation in the area of re-epithelialisation of the wounds was evaluated by counting the metaphases blocked by vincristine sulfate. With PCE an increase in epidermal growth was observed after 4 and 7 days of treatment with Stryphnodendron polyphyllum, and after 7 and 10 days of treatment with Stryphnodendron obovatum. Wounds treated with PEA of Stryphnodendron obovatum showed increased epidermal growth only 4 days after the treatment, for Stryphnodendron polyphyllum, epidermal growth was observed after 4 and 7 days of treatment. Both the CE and the EAF fractions of Stryphnodendron polyphyllum and Stryphnodendron obovatum showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with MIC values of 125 and 250 mu g/ml, respectively. Gram-negative bacteria tested were not inhibited by extracts and fractions at concentrations > 1000 mu g/ml. The antioxidant activity through reduction of the DPPH radical in TLC, confirmed the anti-radical properties of these extracts in both species. CE and EAF of both species showed a radical scavenging activity (RSA) and protected DPPH from discolouration, already at 0.032 mu g/ml. The extract from Stryphnodendron polyphyllum were more effective than those Stryphnodendron obovatum, although the former had a lower tannin content. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.