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The effects of sodium cholate on high-fat diet-induced hyperglycemia and obesity were investigated. Insulin resistance was estimated by measuring 2-deoxyglucose uptake in epitrochlearis muscles incubated in vitro. Addition of 0.5% cholate to high-safflower oil diet completely prevented high fat-induced hyperglycemia and obesity in C57BL/6J mice with a slight decrease of energy intake but with no inhibition of fat absorption. Furthermore, the addition of cholate decreased blood insulin levels and prevented high-fat diet-induced decrease of glucose uptake in epitrochlearis. However, there was no change in the unsaturation index of fatty acids in skeletal muscles and in GLUT-4 levels by cholate. In liver, cholate addition resulted in cholesterol accumulation and completely prevented high-fat diet-induced triglyceride accumulation. The changes of triglyceride level in the liver were paralleled to the changes of acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) mRNA. ACS catalyzes the formation of acyl-CoA from fatty acid, and acyl-CoA is utilized for triglyceride formation in liver. ACS has a sterol-responsive element 1 in its promoter region. These data indicate that the favorable effects of cholate could be partly the result of downregulation of ACS mRNA.

The absorption of isoflavones varies substantially among individuals. It is unknown whether isoflavone absorption differs between those originating from soy and those from red clover, which contain different mixtures of isoflavones. Because both soy and red clover are increasingly used in foods and supplements, these issues were studied in 14 subjects in a single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Soybean isoflavone glycosides and red clover isoflavone aglycones were incorporated into a breakfast cereal and eaten daily for 2 wk each, separated by a 2-wk control or washout period. The 24-h excretions of isoflavones in urine were measured; approximately 25% of each isoflavone was recovered in urine, suggesting that similar amounts were absorbed irrespective of their glycoside/aglycone nature or the differing compositions of their sources (daidzein and genistein in soy and formononetin and biochanin in red clover). Although interindividual variability was high, there was less intraindividual variability; the amounts excreted when subjects consumed the two sources of isoflavone were correlated (r = 0.69; P = 0.007).

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Study design: Cross-sectional study. Objectives: There are ethnic differences in the distribution of abdominal obesity associated with metabolic disorders. In Japan, the appropriate reference values for abdominal obesity have not been established in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), although there are a number of studies in Western countries. This study evaluates the associations between visceral fat area (VFA), waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI), to examine cutoffs and estimate the error for WC and BMI equivalent to 100 cm 2 VFA in Japanese men with SCI. Setting: National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Japan. Methods: Seventy-four men (aged 45.6 (s.d. 14.3) years) participated in the study. VFA was quantified using computed tomography at the level of the umbilicus, and associations were determined using nonlinear regression analysis. The error of the estimates from the regression equation was assessed using a Bland-Altman plot. Results: The mean VFA was 101.2 (s.d. 53.0) cm 2 and 32 subjects had a VFA ⩾ 100 cm 2 . The cutoffs for a VFA of 100 cm 2 were WC, 81.3 cm and BMI, 22.5 kg m − 2 . The relationship between the estimated and actual values showed that the error increased as VFA increased, which resulted in a negative proportional bias. Conclusion: The suggested cutoff for Japanese men with SCI is a VFA of 100 cm 2 , which is lower than that in the healthy able-bodied population for both WC and BMI. Further investigation is needed to determine the reference value for estimating SCI-specific VF accumulation. Spinal Cord (2014) 52, 836-841; doi:10.1038/sc.2014.162; published online 30 September 2014 INTRODUCTIONWheelchair users because of spinal cord injury (SCI) have a higher risk of metabolic disorders than do those who do not require a wheelchair because of a lower level of physical activity and adverse body compositional changes. 1 Many people with SCI participate socially (for example, study and work) while leading an unassisted home life. Early risk assessment for metabolic disorders can help to maintain and enhance health in community-dwelling individuals with SCI. Caring for SCI individuals' health in their homes requires the development of indicators to easily assess the risk of metabolic disorders.People with metabolic disorders have an elevated risk of developing arteriosclerotic disease. 2 The risk factors include elevated blood pressure, dyslipidaemia (elevated triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), high fasting glucose and abdominal obesity. Abdominal obesity is a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome and is characterized by an accumulation of visceral fat (VF) in the abdominal cavity. 3,4 Waist circumference (WC) is used as a surrogate measure of abdominal obesity. There are several recommended cutoffs for WC to estimate abdominal obesity in people of European origin (Europids): ⩾ 94 cm in men and ⩾ 80 cm in women (International Diabetes Federation, World Health Organization); ⩾ 102 cm in men and

The administration of such a transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) agonist as capsaicin, which is a pungent ingredient of red pepper, promotes energy metabolism and suppresses visceral fat accumulation. We have recently identified monoacylglycerols (MGs) having an unsaturated long-chain fatty acid as the novel TRPV1 agonist in foods. We investigated in this present study the effects of dietary MGs on uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression in interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) and on fat accumulation in mice fed with a high-fat, high-sucrose diet. The MG30 diet that substituted 30% of all lipids for MGs (a mixture of 1-oleoylglycerol, 1-linoleoylglycerol and 1-linolenoylglycerol) significantly increased the UCP1 content of IBAT and decreased the weight of epididymal white adipose tissue, and the serum glucose, total cholesterol and free fatty acid levels. The diet containing only 1-oleoylglycerol as MG also increased UCP1 expression in IBAT. MGs that activated TRPV1 also therefore induced the expression of UCP 1 and prevented visceral fat accumulation as well as capsaicin.Key words: monoacylglycerol; transient receptor potential vaniloid 1 (TRPV1); uncoupling protein 1; obesity; capsaicin Obesity is a risk factor for hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. It is important for preventing obesity to decrease the energy intake and increase the energy expenditure. It has been reported that capsaicin (CAP), a pungent ingredient of red pepper, is the functional ingredient for increasing energy expenditure. CAP promotes energy metabolism (oxygen consumption) by increasing adrenaline secreted from the adrenal medulla and upregulating uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) by activating the sympathetic nerve. 1-4) Since CAP has the effect of increasing energy expenditure, the ingestion of CAP could suppress the accumulation of visceral fat in rats fed with a high-fat diet. 5) The CAP receptor was identified as vanilloid receptor subtype 1 in 1997, 6) and has recently been called transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1). TRPV1 is mainly expressed in the primary afferent nerve. 6) Recent studies have indicated that stimulating the sensory nerve by activating TRPV1 was essential to CAP-induced energy expenditure. CAP-induced adrenaline secretion was completely dissipated in rats in which the CAP-sensitive sensory nerve had been denervated by an excess CAP treatment, 7) suggesting that the TRPV1-expressing sensory nerve was indispensable for CAPinduced adrenaline secretion. The effects of suppressing an accumulation of visceral fat, increasing oxygen consumption and promoting thermogenesis by CAP were canceled in TRPV1 knockout mice. 8,9) We searched in our previous study for the food compound which would activate TRPV1 as the functional compound increasing energy expenditure, and identified 1-or 2-monoacylglycerols (MGs) having oleic, linoleic, and -linolenic acids from wheat flour, onion (Allium cepa) and myoga (Zingiber mioga) as TRPV1 agonists. 10) The po...

BackgroundWe previously reported that fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) improved diet-induced metabolic disorders in rats. The purpose of the present study was to examine the dose-dependent effects, safety and tolerability of fenugreek.MethodsThe diets used in this study were the high-fat high-sucrose diet (HFS; lard 50%kcal, sucrose 25%kcal) as a control (Ctrl group) or the HFS containing 0.25% (VL group), 1.25% (L group), 2.50% (M group), 5.00% (H group) or 12.30% (VH group) fenugreek based on the modified version of the AIN-93G purified diet.ResultsFenugreek dose-dependently reduced the hepatic triglyceride and total cholesterol levels. Fenugreek also dose-dependently increased the excretion of cholesterol and total bile acids into the feces. However, the glucose tolerance showed no significant change by fenugreek administration. The VL and L groups did not significantly change triglyceride or total cholesterol levels in the liver. The VL group showed no increase in excretion of triglyceride, total cholesterol or bile acids in the feces. The VH group showed appetite reduction and diarrhea, while no adverse effect or symptoms were observed in the M group.ConclusionThese results suggest that fenugreek inhibited lipid accumulation in the liver by increasing the lipid excretion in the feces. The effective, safe and tolerable dose of fenugreek was found to be around 2.50% (w/w).