Prebiotic Activity of Pequi ( Camb.) Shell on and Strains: A Medicinal Food Ingredient.

Pequi is a native and popular fruit in Cerrado biome. The internal yellow-orange mesocarp is the edible fraction of the fruit, but its shell (peel and external mesocarp), which comprises 80% of the fruit, is not used by the agro-industry during fruit processing. There is a growing interest in the reduction of food loss and waste because of environmental, economic, and social impacts.

Baru (Dipteryx alata Vog.) agro-industrial by-products promote the growth and metabolism of probiotic strains.

Aims: To evaluate the phytochemical composition and effects of the baru peel and pulp (BPP) and the partially defatted baru nut (DBN) on the growth and metabolism of probiotics.

Methods And Results: The proximate composition, including dietary fibers, and polyphenol profile were determined in the BPP and DBN, and the prebiotic activity was evaluated on the growth and metabolism of the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains. BPP and DBN have a high content of insoluble fibers and phenolic compounds, mainly flavonoids and phenolic acids.

Gut microbiota and physical exercise in obesity and diabetes - A systematic review.

Background And Aim: The gut microbiota (GM) plays an essential role in maintaining health, and imbalance in its composition is associated with the physiopathogenesis of metabolic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Diet and antibiotics are known modulators of GM, but the influence of physical exercise in modulating the diversity and abundance of hindgut bacteria is still poorly understood. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the scientific evidence about the effect of physical exercise on GM modulation in subjects with obesity and T2DM.

High-Lard and High-Cholesterol Diet, but not High-Lard Diet, Leads to Metabolic Disorders in a Modified Dyslipidemia Model.

Background: In view of the increased global prevalence of cardiovascular and hepatic diseases, the diet lipid content and its relationship with the accumulation of fat in hepatocytes have been investigated as key factors in preventing these diseases.

Objective: To evaluate the metabolic effects of a high-lard diet supplemented or not with cholesterol on a modified dyslipidemia model.

Methods: We divided 24 adult male Wistar rats into three groups: standard diet (STD - 4% lipids), high-lard diet (HLD - 21% lard), and high-lard and high-cholesterol diet (HL/HCD - 20% lard, 1% cholesterol, 0.

Potential Prebiotic Properties of Nuts and Edible Seeds and Their Relationship to Obesity.

Obesity is a global epidemic chronic condition and is progressing at a rapid rate. This review focuses on the potential prebiotic properties of nuts and edible seeds and the plausible mechanisms that their consumption may help the prevention and the management of overweight and obesity. The literature review was performed by searching papers about the topic in MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases.

Nutritional composition and protein value of the baru (Dipteryx alata Vog.) almond from the Brazilian Savanna.

Background: The almond of the baru tree (Dipteryx alata Vog.), a native species of the Brazilian Savanna, is used in the gastronomy of the central western region of the country. There is relatively little information about the chemical composition and nutritional value of the baru almond, which was the motivation for this research.

Inhibitory effects of beta-carotene and vitamin a during the progression phase of hepatocarcinogenesis involve inhibition of cell proliferation but not alterations in DNA methylation.

The inhibitory effects of Beta-carotene and vitamin A administered to rats in the progression phase of the resistant hepatocyte model of hepatocarcinogenesis were investigated. Beta-Carotene- and vitamin A-treated animals tended to present with a lower incidence of hepatic cancers than controls at sacrifice. Vitamin A, but not Beta-carotene, administration also tended to reduce the total number of persistent hepatocyte nodules.

Effects of beta-carotene and vitamin A on oval cell proliferation and connexin 43 expression during hepatic differentiation in the rat(1).

The effects of beta-carotene and vitamin A administrations were evaluated in an in vivo model of hepatic cell differentiation. For this purpose, male Wistar rats received beta-carotene (70 mg/kg of body weight), vitamin A (10 mg/kg of body weight) or corn oil (control group), by gavage and at every other day during the entire experimental period. After 4 consecutive weeks of treatment, the animals were submitted to the AAF/PH model of hepatic cell differentiation (6 x 20 mg of AAF [2-acetylaminofluorene]/kg of body weight and partial hepatectomy) and killed on different days following the surgery (until day 16 after hepatectomy).