Relation between colonic proglucagon expression and metabolic response to oligofructose in high fat diet-fed mice

Several data suggest that fermentable dietary fiber could play a role in the control of obesity and associated metabolic disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the putative role of short chain fructo-oligosaccharide (OFS) - a non-digestible oligosaccharide - in mice fed a standard diet and in mice fed two distinct high fat diets inducing metabolic disorders associated to obesity. We confirmed, in mice, several effects previously shown in rats fed a standard diet enriched with OFS, namely an increase in total and empty caecum weight, a significant decrease in epididymal fat mass, and an increase in colonic and portal plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a phenomenon positively correlated with a higher colonic proglucagon mRNA level. Curiously, 4-week treatment with OFS added at the same dose induced different effects when added in the two different high fat diets. OFS decreased energy intake, body weight gain, glycemia, and epididymal fat mass only when added together with the high fat-carbohydrate free diet, in which OFS promoted colonic proglucagon expression and insulin secretion. Our results support an association between the increase in proglucagon expression in the proximal colon and OFS effects on glycemia, fat mass development, and/or body weight gain. In conclusion, dietary oligosaccharides would constitute an interesting class of dietary fibers promoting, in certain conditions, endogenous GLP-1 production, with beneficial physiological consequences. This remains to be proven in human studies.     

Metabolism of prebiotic products containing beta(2-1) fructan mixtures by two Lactobacillus strains

The capacity of two probiotic strains, isolated from human breast milk, to use several beta(2-1) fructan mixtures as carbon and energy source in in vitro cultures has been tested. Results showed that both strains, Lactobacillus gasseri CECT5714 and Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716, reached higher growth levels on culture media containing fructooligosaccharide mixtures produced by enzymatic synthesis, compared to those obtained by inulin hydrolysis. Furthermore, the shortest beta(2-1) fructan, kestose, was the only prebiotic compound in the mixtures significantly metabolized in all growth media tested. Analysis of short-chain fatty acid production showed no correlation between the fatty acid profile produced and the carbon source used in each experiment. These data could serve to select appropriate beta(2-1) fructans to be used as prebiotics for L. gasseri CECT5714 and L. fermentum CECT5716 and to design suitable symbiotic food products containing the mentioned lactobacilli.     

马克斯克鲁维酵母菌菊粉酶的异源表达及低聚果糖制备工艺优化

【目的】低聚果糖是新型的食品和保健品原料,具有广阔的市场需求。以菊粉酶水解菊粉制备低聚果糖的酶法工艺是先进的绿色制造。本研究旨在获得高产的菊粉酶菌株及以菊粉为原料酶法制备低聚果糖的优化工艺。【方法】采用基因工程手段克隆马克斯克鲁维酵母菌(Kluyveromyces marxianus)的菊粉酶基因,实现其在毕赤酵母中的高效表达;测定菊粉酶在不同p H、温度、金属离子和底物浓度等条件下的酶活变化趋势,获得最佳的反应参数;通过高效液相色谱法检测水解产物,获得不同酶量水解产物各组分分布。【结果】菊粉酶工程菌株在10 L发酵罐中的产菊粉酶活达1 570 U/m L、蛋白质含量为2.75 g/L发酵液;菊粉酶最适反应参数为:在体积为1 L的反应体系中,p H 5.0、反应温度50°C、含0.2 mmol/L Mg2+以及菊粉浓度为8%。在该条件下,酶量为10 U时菊粉被完全水解。水解产物中单糖和二糖含量仅为9.25%,而低聚果糖(C3-C8)含量为90.75%,且C3-C5低聚果糖含量高达72.92%。【结论】克隆了K.marxianus菊粉酶基因并实现了高效表达,获得了水解菊粉制备低聚果糖的最佳工艺条件。为菊粉酶的大量生产及低聚果糖的酶法制备奠定了良好的基础。     

The mechanical and biochemical properties of tail tendon in a rat model of obesity: Effect of moderate exercise and prebiotic fibre supplementation

The worldwide trajectory of increasing obesity rates is a major health problem precipitating a rise in the prevalence of a variety of co-morbidities and chronic diseases. Tendinopathy, in weight and non-weight bearing tendons, in individuals with overweight or obesity has been linked to metabolic dysfunction resulting from obesity. Exercise and dietary fibre supplementation (DFS) are common countermeasures to combat obesity and therefore it seems reasonable to assume that they might protect tendons from structural and mechanical damage in a diet-induced obesity (DIO) model. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a DIO, DIO combined with moderate exercise, DIO combined with DFS (prebiotic oligofructose), and DIO combined with moderate exercise and DFS on the mechanical and biochemical properties of the rat tail tendon. Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats, fed a high-fat/high-sucrose diet were randomized into a sedentary, a moderate exercise, a DFS, or a moderate exercise combined with DFS group for 12 weeks. Additionally, six lean age-matched animals were included as a sedentary control group. DIO in combination with exercise alone and with exercise and DFS reduced the Young’s Modulus but not the collagen content of the rat tail tendons compared to lean control animals. However, no differences in the mechanical and biochemical properties of the rat tail tendon were detected between the DIO and the lean control group, suggesting that DIO by itself did not impact the tail tendon. It seems that longer DIO exposure periods may be needed to develop overt differences in our DIO model.