PubMed Journal Database | The British journal of nutrition

Cross-sectional study of factors that influence the 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in pregnant women and in cord blood in Germany.

There is increasing evidence of an association between a low maternal vitamin D status and a high risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a cross-sectional study, we investigated the vitamin D status of pregnant women to determine potentially influencing factors. Between December 2010 and February 2012, 261 maternal blood samples and 328 cord blood samples were collected for the analysis of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), intact parathyroid hormone, alkaline phosphatase and Ca concentrations. Demographical ch...

Increased skeletal muscle mitochondrial efficiency in rats with fructose-induced alteration in glucose tolerance.

In the present study, the effect of long-term fructose feeding on skeletal muscle mitochondrial energetics was investigated. Measurements in isolated tissue were coupled with the determination of whole-body energy expenditure and insulin sensitivity. A significant increase in plasma NEFA, as well as in skeletal muscle TAG and ceramide, was found in fructose-fed rats compared with the controls, together with a significantly higher plasma insulin response to a glucose load, while no significant variation in p...

Methodological considerations for meal-induced thermogenesis: measurement duration and reproducibility.

Meal-induced thermogenesis (MIT) research findings have been highly inconsistent, in part, due to the variety of durations and protocols used to measure MIT. In the present study, we aimed to determine the following: (1) the proportion of a 6 h MIT response completed at 3, 4 and 5 h; (2) the associations between the shorter durations and the 6 h measures; (3) whether shorter durations improved the reproducibility of the measurement. MIT was measured in response to a 2410 kJ mixed composition meal in ten...

Curcuma oil ameliorates hyperlipidaemia and associated deleterious effects in golden Syrian hamsters.

Essential oil components from turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) are documented for neuroprotective, anti-cancer, anti-thrombotic and antioxidant effects. The present study aimed to investigate the disease-modifying potential of curcuma oil (C. oil), a lipophilic component from C. longa L., in hyperlipidaemic hamsters. Male golden Syrian hamsters were fed a chow or high-cholesterol (HC) and fat-rich diet with or without C. oil (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) for 28 d. In HC diet-fed hamsters, C. oil significantly reduce...

Genetic predisposition to obesity and lifestyle factors - the combined analyses of twenty-six known BMI- and fourteen known waist:hip ratio (WHR)-associated variants in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study.

Recent genome-wide association studies have identified multiple loci associated with BMI or the waist:hip ratio (WHR). However, evidence on gene-lifestyle interactions is still scarce, and investigation of the effects of well-documented dietary and other lifestyle data is warranted to assess whether genetic risk can be modified by lifestyle. We assessed whether previously established BMI and WHR genetic variants associate with obesity and weight change in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study, and whether t...

Dietary fibre affects intestinal mucosal barrier function and regulates intestinal bacteria in weaning piglets.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of fibre source on intestinal mucosal barrier function in weaning piglets. A total of 125 piglets were randomly allotted on the basis of their body weight and litters to one of five experimental diets, i.e. a control diet without fibre source (CT), and diets in which expanded maize was replaced by 10 % maize fibre (MF), 10 % soyabean fibre (SF), 10 % wheat bran fibre (WBF) or 10 % pea fibre (PF). The diets and water were fed ad libitum for 3...

Postprandial lipid responses to standard carbohydrates used to determine glycaemic index values.

Prior studies assessing the metabolic effects of different types of carbohydrates have focused on their glycaemic response. However, the response of postprandial cardiometabolic risk indicators has not been considered in these studies. The present study assessed postprandial lipid responses to two forms of carbohydrates used as reference foods for glycaemic index determinations, white bread (50 g available carbohydrate) and glucose (50 g), under controlled conditions and with intra-individual replicate de...

Effects of long-term administration of saturated and n-3 fatty acid-rich diets on lipid utilisation and oxidative stress in rat liver and muscle tissues.

The incidence of metabolic syndrome components including obesity, lipid deregulation, insulin resistance (IR) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is increasing rapidly in wealthy societies. The present study was designed to determine the effect of different nutritional lipid patterns (quantity and quality) on lipid utilisation and oxidative stress in the liver and muscle of rats in an integrated fashion. A total of forty-eight Wistar male rats were fed for 12 weeks with a mixed, lard or fish-oil diet, con...

Grape juice concentrate protects reproductive parameters of male rats against cadmium-induced damage: a chronic assay.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of long-term grape juice concentrate (GJC) consumption, in two dosages, on the reproductive parameters of cadmium-exposed male rats. The effects of the concentrate on body mass gain, plasma testosterone levels, reproductive organ weights, daily sperm production, sperm morphology, testis histopathological and histomorphometrical parameters, and testicular antioxidant markers were investigated. Wistar rats (n 54) were distributed into six groups: CdC...

Dietary arginine affects energy metabolism through polyamine turnover in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

In the present study, quadruplicate groups of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were fed plant protein-based diets with increasing arginine inclusions (range 28·8-37·4 g/kg DM) to investigate whether arginine supplementation affects growth and lipid accumulation through an elevated polyamine turnover. Dietary lysine was held at a constant concentration, just below the requirement. All other amino acids were balanced and equal in the diets. Arginine supplementation increased protein and fat accretion...

Associations of dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load with food and nutrient intake and general and central obesity in British adults.

Inconsistent associations between dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) and body fatness may be partly due to differences in the underlying dietary patterns or energy under-reporting. In the present study, we examined the cross-sectional associations of dietary GI and GL with food and nutrient intake and general and central obesity, accounting for energy under-reporting. The subjects were 1487 British adults aged 19-64 years. Dietary intake was assessed using a 7 d weighed dietary record. Br...

Oral administration of Bifidobacterium longum CECT 7347 ameliorates gliadin-induced alterations in liver iron mobilisation.

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten intake, causing intestinal inflammation and mucosal damage commonly associated with the malabsorption of nutrients and ferropenic anaemia. The present study evaluates the effects of the oral administration of Bifidobacterium longum CECT 7347 on gliadin-mediated alterations in hepatic Fe deposition and Hb concentration, liver transferrin receptor (TfR)-2, IL-6, TNF-α and hepcidin (Hamp) expression (mRNA), and active hepcidin peptide production by...

Metabolomic profiling of urine: response to a randomised, controlled feeding study of select fruits and vegetables, and application to an observational study.

Metabolomic profiles were used to characterise the effects of consuming a high-phytochemical diet compared with a diet devoid of fruits and vegetables (F&V) in a randomised trial and cross-sectional study. In the trial, 8 h fasting urine from healthy men (n 5) and women (n 5) was collected after a 2-week randomised, controlled trial of two diet periods: a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables, citrus and soya (F&V), and a fruit- and vegetable-free (basal) diet. Among the ions found to differentiate the diets...

Effects of dietary energy density and digestible protein:energy ratio on de novo lipid synthesis from dietary protein in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) quantified with stable isotopes.

The effects of varying dietary digestible protein (DP) and digestible energy (DE) content on performance, nutrient retention efficiency and the de novo lipogenesis of DP origin were examined in triplicate groups of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), fed nine extruded experimental diets. In order to trace the metabolic fate of dietary protein, 1·8 % fishmeal was replaced with isotope-labelled whole protein (>98 % 13C). The experiment was divided into a growth period lasting 89 d, growing fish from appro...

Lycopene supplementation modulates plasma concentrations and epididymal adipose tissue mRNA of leptin, resistin and IL-6 in diet-induced obese rats.

Obesity is characterised by chronic low-grade inflammation, and lycopene has been reported to display anti-inflammatory effects. However, it is not clear whether lycopene supplementation modulates adipokine levels in vivo in obesity. To determine whether lycopene supplementation can regulate adipokine expression in obesity, male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to receive a control diet (C, n 6) or a hyperenergetic diet (DIO, n 12) for 6 weeks. After this period, the DIO animals were randomised into two g...

Effect of Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 in fermented milk on abdominal adiposity in adults in a randomised controlled trial.

Consumption of fermented milk (FM) containing a probiotic, Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 (LG2055), previously showed a reduction in abdominal adiposity in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) using FM with 108 colony-forming units (cfu) of LG2055/g. However, whether the effectiveness is observed at lower concentrations, the recommended minimum or intermediate levels of probiotics (106 or 107cfu/g, respectively), remains to be examined. A multi-centre, double-blind, parallel-group RCT was conducted using 210...

Lunch energy density and the metabolic syndrome in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible associations between dietary energy density (ED) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with type 2 diabetes. In the present case-control study, the dietary ED of 125 patients with type 2 diabetes (seventy-eight with (cases) the MetS and forty-seven without (controls) the MetS; mean age 62·0 (sd 9·4) years, mean diabetes duration 12·5 (sd 8·4) years and mean glycated Hb 7·2 (sd 1·3) %) was assessed by weighed diet records. The MetS w...

Fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2) insertion/deletion polymorphism impact on muscle fatty acid profile in European grayling (Thymallus thymallus).

An insertion (In)/deletion (Del) polymorphism in the fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2) gene, which codes for Δ6-desaturase, was for the first time observed in fish. The polymorphism is located in the seventh intron of FADS2 and the insertion consists of eleven repeats of CTGT (44 bp) with an allelic frequency, for the insertion, of 39 %. The polymorphism was associated with a modulation in Δ6-desaturase activity as significant effects on the ratio of EPA or DHA to their precursors were found (P

Nutritional risk, functional status and mortality in newly institutionalised elderly.

Previous studies have reported a close relationship between nutritional and functional domains, but evidence in long-term care residents is still limited. We evaluated the relationship between nutritional risk and functional status and the association of these two domains with mortality in newly institutionalised elderly. In the present multi-centric prospective cohort study, involving 346 long-term care resident elderly, nutritional risk and functional status were determined upon admission by the Geriatric...

Energy intake from human milk covers the requirement of 6-month-old Senegalese exclusively breast-fed infants.

Exclusive breast-feeding until 6 months is advised by the WHO as the best practice to feed infants. Yet, some studies have suggested a gap between energy requirements and the energy provided by human milk for many infants at 6 months. In order to assess the adequacy of WHO recommendations in 6-month-old Senegalese lactating infants, a comprehensive study was designed to measure human milk intake by the dose-to-the mother 2H2O turnover method. Infants' energy intakes were calculated using daily breast milk i...

A dairy and fruit dietary pattern is associated with a reduced likelihood of osteoporosis in Korean postmenopausal women.

The aim of the present study was to identify the association of dietary patterns with osteoporosis in Korean postmenopausal women from the Korean Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-10. The present cross-sectional analysis included 3735 postmenopausal women who completed a health interview, nutrition survey and a health examination including bone mineral density (BMD) measurements. The general characteristics and dietary intakes of the participants were obtained using a standardised questionnaire a...

Mammary gene expression and activity of antioxidant enzymes and oxidative indicators in the blood, milk, mammary tissue and ruminal fluid of dairy cows fed flax meal.

The effects of flax meal (FM) on the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT)) in the blood, mammary tissue and ruminal fluid, and oxidative stress indicators (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl-scavenging activity) in the milk, plasma and ruminal fluid of dairy cows were determined. The mRNA abundance of the antioxidant enzymes and oxidative stress-related genes was assessed in mammary tissue....

Dietary supplementation of young broiler chickens with Capsicum and turmeric oleoresins increases resistance to necrotic enteritis.

The Clostridium-related poultry disease, necrotic enteritis (NE), causes substantial economic losses on a global scale. In the present study, a mixture of two plant-derived phytonutrients, Capsicum oleoresin and turmeric oleoresin (XT), was evaluated for its effects on local and systemic immune responses using a co-infection model of experimental NE in commercial broilers. Chickens were fed from hatch with a diet supplemented with XT, or with a non-supplemented control diet, and either uninfected or orally...

The dopamine β-hydroxylase inhibitor, nepicastat, suppresses chocolate self-administration and reinstatement of chocolate seeking in rats.

Craving for chocolate is a common phenomenon, which may evolve to an addictive-like behaviour and contribute to obesity. Nepicastat is a selective dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) inhibitor that suppresses cocaine-primed reinstatement of cocaine seeking in rats. We verified whether nepicastat was able to modify the reinforcing and motivational properties of a chocolate solution and to prevent the reinstatement of chocolate seeking in rats. Nepicastat (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) produced a dose-rel...

Serum lipid-improving effect of soyabean β-conglycinin in hyperlipidaemic menopausal women.

To evaluate the effect of treatment with β-conglycinin, a major soyabean protein, on blood lipids in menopausal women, we recruited 100 hyperlipidaemic women aged 40-60 years old. Participants were randomly allocated to three groups: placebo group (n 34, four casein tablets/d); low dose group (n 33, four tablets containing 2·3 g β-conglycinin/d); high-dose group (n 33, eight tablets containing 4·6 g β-conglycinin/d). The mean serum TAG concentration was significantly reduced after 6 and 12 weeks of Î...