Mid-term evaluation of Maternal and Child Nutrition Programme (MCNP II) in Kenya.

Background: Kenya is faced with a triple burden of malnutrition which is multi-faceted with health and socio-economic implications. Huge geographical disparities exist, especially, in the arid and semi-arid lands exacerbated by inadequate resource allocation to the nutrition sector and challenges in multi-sectoral coordination and nutrition governance. UNICEF's Maternal and Child Nutrition Programme is a four-year (2018-2022) resilience-building, multi-sectoral program focused on pregnant and lactating women, mothers of children under five years and children under five years.

Direct comparison of metabolic health effects of the flavonoids quercetin, hesperetin, epicatechin, apigenin and anthocyanins in high-fat-diet-fed mice.

Dietary flavonoid intake is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, possibly by affecting metabolic health. The relative potency of different flavonoids in causing beneficial effects on energy and lipid metabolism has not been investigated. Effects of quercetin, hesperetin, epicatechin, apigenin and anthocyanins in mice fed a high-fat diet (HF) for 12 weeks were compared, relative to normal-fat diet.

Short-chain fatty acids stimulate angiopoietin-like 4 synthesis in human colon adenocarcinoma cells by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ.

Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4/FIAF) has been proposed as a circulating mediator between the gut microbiota and fat storage. Here, we show that transcription and secretion of ANGPTL4 in human T84 and HT29 colon adenocarcinoma cells is highly induced by physiological concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). SCFA induce ANGPTL4 by activating the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ), as demonstrated using PPARγ antagonist, PPARγ knockdown, and transactivation assays, which show activation of PPARγ but not PPARα and PPARδ by SCFA.