Low glycemic load diets protect against metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the male Nile rat.

Background: Dietary modification helps prevent and manage Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in humans and Nile rats. Specifically fibrous legumes, like lentils, benefit humans, but whether this reflects a specific change in the Glycemic Load (GLoad) remains controversial. Accordingly, low-GLoad foods were tested in the glucose-sensitive Nile rat.

Hepatic transcriptome implications for palm fruit juice deterrence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in young male Nile rats.

Background: The Nile rat (NR, ) is a model of carbohydrate-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the metabolic syndrome. A previous study found that palm fruit juice (PFJ) delayed or prevented diabetes and in some cases even reversed its early stages in young NRs. However, the molecular mechanisms by which PFJ exerts these anti-diabetic effects are unknown.

Anti-diabetic effects of palm fruit juice in the Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus).

With the increasing incidence of metabolic diseases, numerous bioactive phytochemicals have been proffered in the dietary prevention of these conditions. Palm fruit juice (PFJ) possesses bioactive phenolic compounds (referred to as oil palm phenolics; OPP) that may deter diabetes. The objective of the present experiments was to document the degree to which PFJ reduces diabetes symptoms in a variety of circumstances in the Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), a novel model for carbohydrate-induced type 2 diabetes (type 2 diabetes mellitus; T2DM) and the metabolic syndrome.

Dietary carbohydrate dictates development of Type 2 diabetes in the Nile rat.

Amount and type of dietary carbohydrate (CHO), as well as the CHO:fat ratio, are thought to be critical for both the rate of development and severity of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thus, these nutritional considerations were examined in the previously described "spontaneous" model of diabetes and metabolic syndrome, the Nile rat. Weanling male Nile rats (n=92) were fed semipurified diets, modifying glycemic index and load by changing the amount of fiber or altering the CHO:fat ratio.

Triglyceride recrystallized phytosterols in fat-free milk improve lipoprotein profiles more than unmodified free phytosterols in hypercholesterolemic men and women.

Objective: Foods incorporating plant sterols (PS) consistently decrease serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), although results vary depending on the PS form and food matrix. The objective was to study the effect of a novel triglyceride-recrystallized phystosterol (TRP) incorporated into fat-free milk on markers of cardiovascular risk compared to unmodified free sterols alone in the same fat-free milk.

Methods: Hypercholesterolemic men and women (n = 13 males/7 females; 56 ± 10 years; body mass index 27.

Replacing trans fat: the argument for palm oil with a cautionary note on interesterification.

To replace dietary trans fatty acids (TFA), two practical options exist: revert to a natural saturated fat without cholesterol (most likely palm oil or its fractions) or move to a newer model of modified fat hardened by interesterification (IE). This review summarizes the relative risks for cardiovascular disease inherent in these options. Interestingly, both types of fat have been the subject of nutritional scrutiny for approximately the last 40 years, and both have positive and negative attributes.

Nutritional correlates and dynamics of diabetes in the Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus): a novel model for diet-induced type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome.

Background: The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and related chronic diseases, among them non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus, are on the rise in the United States and throughout the world. Animal models that respond to environmental stressors, such as diet, are useful for investigating the outcome and development of these related diseases.

Objective: Within this context, growth and energy relationships were characterized in the Nile rat, an exotic African rodent, as a potential animal model for diet-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus and Metabolic Syndrome.

An animal model of spontaneous metabolic syndrome: Nile grass rat.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a prevalent and complex disease, characterized by the variable coexistence of obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinaemia, and hypertension. The alarming rise in the prevalence of metabolic disorders makes it imperative to innovate preventive or therapeutic measures for MetS and its complications. However, the elucidation of the pathogenesis of MetS has been hampered by the lack of realistic models.

Free phytosterols facilitate excretion of endogenous cholesterol in gerbils.

To determine whether phytosterols (PST) facilitate excretion of whole body cholesterol and whether dietary fat or enhancing gallbladder contraction with curcumin might influence this process, four experiments were conducted in gerbils. In Experiment 1, naive gerbils received cholesterol-free purified diets with 30% energy from fat and 0% or 0.75% free PST from tall oil for 4 weeks.

Betaine in sub-acute and sub-chronic rat studies.

To evaluate the sub-acute and sub-chronic effect of large doses of betaine, this trimethyl glycine compound was fed to rats. Initial studies at BIBRA in the UK evaluated intakes of 0, 1, 2, and 5% betaine added to a maintenance chow designed for use in toxicology studies. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were followed for up to 90 days.

Dietary trans-18:1 raises plasma triglycerides and VLDL cholesterol when replacing either 16:0 or 18:0 in gerbils.

To compare the relative impact of trans-18:1 with the two main dietary saturated fatty acids it replaces, plasma lipid response was assessed in Mongolian gerbils fed diets rich in 16:0 (24%en),18:0 (10%en), or trans-18:1 (4 or 6%en). The diets were designed such that the 18:0-rich diet substituted 7%en as 18:0 for 16:0, whereas 4%en and 6%en from trans-18:1 was substituted for 16:0 in the two trans diets. The control group was fed a diet formulated according to the fatty acid balance of American Heart Association (AHA), but provided 40%en as fat.

Dietary conjugated linoleic acid lowers plasma cholesterol during cholesterol supplementation, but accentuates the atherogenic lipid profile during the acute phase response in hamsters.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) reportedly exerts anticarcinogenic and antiatherosclerotic effects in animals. To test the hypothesis that the putative antiatherosclerotic effect of CLA might derive from an anti-inflammatory or antioxidant action on lipoprotein metabolism, an acute phase response (APR) was elicited in hamsters while varying dietary cholesterol and vitamin E intakes in two experiments. The effect of CLA intake (to 1%) was examined with 0% (Experiment 1, 7 wk) and 0 or 0.

Glyceride stearic acid content and structure affect the energy available to growing rats.

To better understand the relative absorption of 18:0, specific structured triglycerides (STG) with varied ratios of 18:0 and short-chain organic acids (2:0, 3:0, 4:0) were compared with naturally occurring 18:0 in cocoa butter and to other mono- and diglycerides (DGs) containing 18:0. A bioassay for available fat energy was developed for growing Sprague-Dawley rats fed reduced energy from a control diet containing an American Heart Association (AHA) fat blend to generate 60 or 80% normal growth. The resulting standard growth curve was applied to the test fats, including cocoa butter and six glycerides, which were blended 3:1 with the AHA blend (to ensure EFA sufficiency) and pair-fed to match intake of control rats (AHA diet, 80% normal growth).

Free phytosterols effectively reduce plasma and liver cholesterol in gerbils fed cholesterol.

The potential of free phytosterols (including 20% stanols) to lower plasma and liver lipids was assessed in three experiments with gerbils fed diets containing cholesterol. The first explored the ability of phytosterols (0.5%) to block absorption of 0.

Hyperlipidemic effects of trans fatty acids are accentuated by dietary cholesterol in gerbils.

Trans isomers of dietary fatty acids, generated during the commercial hydrogenation of unsaturated fats, may contribute to coronary heart disease (CHD) in humans by interfering with lipid metabolism. To examine this possibility in a fat-sensitive model, the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) was used to compare the cholesterolemic and triglyceridemic potential of modest increments of trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated soybean oil with other saturated fatty acids in the presence and absence of dietary cholesterol. Age-, dose-, and time-dependent effects were examined in weanling, 6-month-old, and 1-year-old gerbils.