Background: Dietary fats and fructose have been responsible for inducing obesity and body tissues damage due to the consequence of metabolic syndrome through several mechanisms. The body fat index (BFI) is one of the anthropometric measures used to detect obesity in rats. This study aims to examine the correlation between high-fat high-fructose diet and liver steatosis cell count, early atherosclerosis characteristics, and BFI in Sprague Dawley Rats.Design and methods: This was an experimental design using 2 groups of 12-weeks-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. The control group received a standard diet and tap water beverages for 17 weeks. The intervention group was fed with high-fat diet from modified AIN 93-M and additional 30% fructose drink. We analyzed the foam cell count, aortic wall thickness, cardiac histopathology, and liver steatosis cell count after the sacrifice process.Results: The rats in the intervention group had a higher aortic wall thickness, liver steatosis, and foam cell count (+125%, p<0.01; +317%, p<0.01 and +165%, p<0.01 respectively) compared to the control group. The intervention group also showed higher mononuclear inflammatory and hypertrophic cell count. A significant positive correlation was found between dietary fructose with premature atherosclerosis by increasing foam cell count (r=0.66) and aortic wall thickness (r=0.68). In addition, 30% dietary fructose increased liver steatosis (r =0.69) and mononuclear inflammatory cardiac cell count (r=0.61). Interestingly, the intervention had no effect on BFI (p>0.5; r=0.13).Conclusions: Dietary fat and fructose consumption for 17 weeks promote atherosclerosis, liver steatosis, and cardiac histopathology alteration without increasing BFI.

Obesity is characterized by excessive accumulation of fat in the body, which causes changes in body composition and endothelial dysfunction due to impaired production of nitric oxide (NO). The common means of managing obesity is through functional food, such as brown rice, which has high fiber and antioxidant content. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of adding brown rice to feed on carcass composition and NOx levels in obese rats. This was an experimental study involving male Sprague Dawley rats placed in 5 groups, in which 4 were allowed to turn to obese rats with the remaining one group as control. These 4 groups were allowed to later feed on high-fat high-fructose (HFHF) diet while the control fed on the normal AIN-93 diet, followed by 8 weeks of HFHF intervention and brown rice in feed with 3 different doses; 12.43%; 24.86%; and 37.29%. The serum NOx levels were analyzed by the Griess Reaction method, while the percentage of protein and fat was analyzed through Gravimetric Extraction. The results showed that the addition of brown rice resulted in changes in the Lee index (p = 0.000) and abdominal circumference (p = 0.000). Also, a correlation was observed between the Lee index and abdominal circumference (p = 0.001; r = 0.558) of rats. However, there was no significant difference between NOx and carcass protein levels, and there was an increase in carcass fat levels due to an increase in mitochondrial energy efficiency and resistance to protein synthesis in obese rats.

Introduction: The increasing consumption of high-fat and high-fructose foods contributes to the increasing prevalence of global obesity. Low-grade chronic inflammation in obesity is a significant risk factor for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of β-(1,3)-D-glucan from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) extract on rats fed with a high-fat and high-fructose diet. Design and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on 35 male Sprague-Dawley rats aged eight weeks. The rats were divided into groups given a normal (N) diet, a high-fat and high-fructose diet (HFFD), D1 (HFFD+125 mg/kg BW β-glucan), D2 (HFFD+250 mg/kg BW β glucan), and D3 (HFFD+375 mg/kg BW β-glucan) with an intervention of 14 weeks. IL-6 and IL-1β levels were measured by the ELISA method, while HOMA-IR (Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance) was calculated by the fasting insulin (ng/mL) x fasting blood glucose (mg/dL)/405 formula. Pancreatic beta-cell counts were measured by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Results: The results showed no differences in IL-6 and IL-1β between the treatment groups. However, there were significant differences in HOMA-IR and pancreatic beta-cell counts between groups. There were negative correlations between the dose of β-glucan and IL-6, IL-1β, and HOMA-IR levels. Also, there was a positive correlation between the dose of β-glucan and the number of pancreatic beta cells. Conclusions: Administration of β-(1,3)-D-glucan from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) extract prevented hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, also reduced inflammation in rats fed with HFFD regardless of weight gain.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder whose prevalence increases globally. Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) is one of the DM management pillars to control blood glucose. Local Indonesian brown rice is proven to contain high fiber and magnesium levels thus could improve obesity, fasting blood glucose, and HbA1c This study aims to prove the benefits of brown rice on anthropometric parameters and blood glucose control.Design and methods: Respondents were overweight women older than 40 years with type 2 diabetes who were given three main meals and three snacks six days a week for 12 weeks. Anthropometric and blood glucose control data were collected before and after the intervention. Diet and intake data before the intervention were obtained through a semi quantitate food frequency questionnaire. Intake data during the intervention were recorded using the 24-hour food record and analyzed using modified NutriSurvey 2007 software.Results: Brown rice intervention significantly reduced body weight, BMI, body fat percentage, and abdominal circumference (P <0.05), also in fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-h postprandial blood glucose (PBG), and HbA1c (P <0.05). From the Pearson's test results, an increase in fiber intake correlated with a decrease in BMI and abdominal circumference (P = 0.03; r = -0.511 and P = 0.006; r = -0.619, respectively). Meanwhile, magnesium intake and changes in BMI showed a negative correlation.Conclusions: The substitution of brown rice as a staple food for 12 weeks improves anthropometric parameters and blood glucose control in respondents with type 2 diabetes.