Effect of brominated vegetable oils on heart lipid metabolism

Soya protein reverses dyslipidaemia and the altered capacity of insulin-stimulated glucose utilization in the skeletal muscle of sucrose-rich diet-fed rats

The present study investigates the benefits of dietary intake of soya protein upon dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance in rats chronically (8 months) fed a sucrose-rich (63 %) diet (SRD). For this purpose, we analysed the effectiveness of soya protein isolate in improving or reversing these metabolic abnormalities. Wistar rats were fed a SRD for 4 months. By the end of this period, stable dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance were present in the animals. From months 4 to 8, half the animals continued with the SRD and the other half were fed a SRD in which the source of protein casein was substituted by soya. The control group received a diet in which the source of carbohydrate was maize starch. The results showed that: (1) soya protein normalized plasma TAG, cholesterol and NEFA levels in the SRD-fed rats. Moreover, the addition of soya protein reversed the hepatic steatosis. (2) Glucose homeostasis was normalized without changes in circulating insulin levels. Whole-body peripheral insulin sensitivity substantially improved. Besides, soya protein moderately decreases body weight gain limiting the accretion of visceral fat. (3) By shifting the source of dietary protein from casein to soya during the last 4 months of the feeding period it was possible to reverse both the diminished insulin-stimulated glucose oxidation and disposal in the skeletal muscle of SRD-fed rats. This study provides new data showing the beneficial effect of soya protein upon lipid and glucose homeostasis in the experimental model of dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance.

Effects of chronic di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate intake on the secretion and removal rate of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in rats

This work intends to characterize the nature of the plasma triglyceride level decrease in male Wistar rats fed with diets supplemented with 2% (w/w) di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), a packaged-food chemical contaminant. After being fed for 21 days, the animals were assessed to determine plasma and liver lipids or to quantify the in vivo hepatic secretion and in vitro plasma removal of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. The liver cholesterol and triglyceride contents in DEHP-fed rats were closely similar to those found in controls, co-existing with a decrease in plasma cholesterol (19%), phospholipid (14%) and triglyceride (36%) levels. The decrease of the plasma triglyceride pool size was not associated with a reduction in hepatic secretion of triglyceride. The total triglyceride lipase activity rose (32%) due to a remarkable increase (100%) of the extrahepatic lipoprotein lipase activity. We can conclude that extrahepatic lipoprotein lipase activity accounts for the hypotriglyceridaemic effect of DEHP through an increase of triglyceride removal rate.

Biochemical abnormalities in the heart of rats fed a sucrose-rich diet: is the low activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex a result of increased fatty acid oxidation?

We have previously shown that normal Wistar rats fed for 3 weeks with an isocaloric sucrose-rich (63%) diet (SRD) develop high levels of plasma free fatty acids and increased triacylglycerol content in the myocardium. We are now reporting that these changes are accompanied by remarkably low levels of the active form of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHa; mean +/- SEM, 37.2% +/- 3.7% of the total activity) when compared with levels found in hearts donated by control rats fed the standard chow diet (STD; 71.0% +/- 2.8%; P less than .01). Increased concentrations of both long-chain acyl-CoA (0.21 +/- 0.03 v 0.06 +/- 0.01 mumol.g dry weight-1 found in STD; P less than .01) and acetyl-CoA (0.17 +/- 0.05 v 0.09 +/- 0.01 found in STD; P less than .01), as well as a relative decrease in coenzyme A (CoASH) (0.21 +/- 0.02 v 0.32 +/- 0.05 from STD; P = NS), resulting in an increased acetyl-CoA/CoASH ratio (0.80 +/- 0.13 v 0.29 +/- 0.03 in STD; P less than .01) may have stimulated the PDH kinase, leading in turn to an inactivation of the PDH complex. The above enzymatic and metabolic changes in the in situ heart of SRD-fed rats were still present after perfusing them for 35 minutes with a Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing 11 mmol/L glucose as the only exogenous substrate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)