Freeze-dried strawberry and blueberry attenuates diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in rats by inhibiting adipogenesis and lipogenesis

Abstract

Obesity and type 2-diabetes are becoming a worldwide health problem, reiterating the importance of alternative therapies to tackle their progression. Here, we hypothesized that supplementation of diet with 6% w/w of a freeze-dried strawberry-blueberry (5 : 1) powder (FDSB) could exert beneficial metabolic effects on Wistar rats. FDSB-supplemented animals experienced significantly reduced body weight gain, food efficiency and visceral adiposity accumulation in two independent experiments. FDSB supplementation also contributed to lower area under the curve after an intraperitoneal GTT and reduced serum insulin levels and an insulin resistance index (IR-HOMA) in HFS diet-fed animals, together with reduced plasma MCP-1 inflammation marker concentrations. Gene expression analysis in retroperitoneal adipocytes from experiment 1 and 3T3-L1 cells showed that FDSB inhibited adipogenesis and lipogenesis through down-regulation of Pparg, Cebpa, Lep, Fasn, Scd-1 and Lpl gene expression. Untargeted metabolomics identified the cis isomer of resveratrol-3-glucoside-sulphate as a metabolite differentially increased in FDSB-treated serum samples, which corresponds to a strawberry metabolite that could be considered a serum biomarker of FDSB-intake. Our results suggest that FDSB powder might be useful for treatment/prevention of obesity-related diseases.

An 8-Week Freeze-Dried Blueberry Supplement Impacts Immune-Related Pathways: A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…In contrast to ndings made in human interventions, numerous animal studies reported bene ts of blueberries alone or mixed with other berries on weight management (42)(43)(44), markers of glucose/insulin resistance or sensitivity (10,(42)(43)(44)(45)(46), lipid pro le (42,47,48), vascular health (49,50), kidney function (51) or in ammatory markers (10,(42)(43)(44)(50)(51)(52)(53). Results from studies assessing other MetS phenotype parameters have been consistent with our ndings overall.…”

Physalis peruviana L. Pulp Prevents Liver Inflammation and Insulin Resistance in Skeletal Muscles of Diet-Induced Obese Mice

“…For example, the chronic administration of green tea polyphenols reduces lipid infiltration, and both inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in the liver of HFD-fed rats [14]; blueberry extract also protects NAFLD-associated hepatocyte damage, inhibiting inflammatory and oxidant signals through the suppression of NF-kB activation [15]. An extract from strawberry and blueberries ameliorates the metabolic alterations induced by obesity such as IR and inflammation [16]. Physalis peruviana L. (PP) is distributed across South America; it is an abundant source of phenolic components, like coumarin, kaempferol, quercetin, and ascorbic acid, which have several biological activities including the prevention of some metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity [17].…”

Targeted sequencing analysis of PPARG identifies a risk variant associated with obstructive sleep apnea in Chinese Han subjects

“…PPARG is known to affect obesity, adipose and muscle tissue metabolism, and craniofacial abnormalities thereby causing OSA. Obesity is the strongest risk factor for the development of OSA [14], and PPARG plays an important role in the development of obesity [15,16]. PPARG regulates lipid and glucose metabolism, and downregulation of PPARG has been shown to have anti-obesity effects [32].…”

“…Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) is a member of the nuclear receptor family that includes 48 human transcription factors [15]. PPARG has been linked to development of obesity [15][16][17] and may play an important role in the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying OSA. PPARG expression was downregulated in the adipose tissue of OSA patients relative to control individuals, as measured using qPCR [18].…”