Lipoic acid prevents body weight gain induced by a high fat diet in rats: Effects on intestinal sugar transport

Abstract

Several studies have suggested that oxidative stress might cause and aggravate the inflammatory state associated with obesity and could be the link between excessive weight gain and its related disorders such as insulin resistance and cardiovascular diseases. Thus, antioxidant treatment has been proposed as a therapy to prevent and manage obesity and associated complications. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of supplementation of a standard or high fat diet with the antioxidant lipoic acid (LA) during 56 days, on body weight gain, adiposity, feed efficiency and intestinal sugar absorption, in male Wistar rats. LA supplementation induced a lower body weight gain and adipose tissue size in both control or high fat fed rats accompanied by a reduction in food intake. The group fed on a high fat diet and treated with LA (OLIP group) showed a lower body weight gain than its corresponding Pair-Fed (PF) group (P < 0.05), which received the same amount of food than LA-treated animals but with no LA. In fact, LA induced a reduction on feed efficiency and also significantly decreased intestinal alpha-methylglucoside (alpha-MG) absorption both in lean and obese rats. These results suggest that the beneficial effects of dietary supplementation with LA on body weight gain are mediated, at least in part, by the reduction observed in food intake and feed efficiency. Furthemore, the inhibitory action of LA on intestinal sugar transport could explain in part the lower feed efficiency observed in LA-treated animals and therefore, highlighting the beneficial effects of LA on obesity.

The effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation on cardiovascular risk factors in men with chronic spinal cord injury: a clinical trial

“…There is a large body of growing evidence showing that LA can have a substantial role in the regulation of food intake and anthropometric indices by suppressing appetite and elevating energy metabolism. 8,9,11,12 In agreement with our study there are two human studies; in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 20-week trial, 1800 mg LA reduced body weight significantly more than did 1200 mg LA and placebo in 360 obese individuals. 10 In a case series study by Kim et al, 9 the effect of LA on body weight gain induced by antipsychotics in schizophrenic patients was studied (N = 7, 1200 mg LA, 12 weeks).…”

“…7 In addition, ALA reduces body weight and changes other anthropometric indices by suppressing appetite and increasing metabolism. [8][9][10][11][12] Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition and entails considerable burden on the individual and society. 13,14 Persons with chronic SCI are at increased risk for obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and systemic inflammation [15][16][17][18][19] because of changes in their lifestyle, body composition and fat mass.…”

Apelin Attenuates Oxidative Stress in Human Adipocytes

“…Our current study implies that the antioxidant effects of apelin can attenuate ROS-induced adipogenesis, lipogenesis, lipolysis, and release of free fatty acids. Lipoic acid (an antioxidant) is a commercial dietary supplement, which has been shown to be beneficial for reducing body adiposity and insulin resistance (81,82). This study and our previous study suggest that apelin-APJ signaling pathways may serve as the novel therapeutic targets for obesity and obesityassociated metabolic diseases.…”

Compounds with Antioxidant Capacity as Potential Tools Against Several Oxidative Stress Related Disorders: Fact or Artifact?

“…Based on that, different studies suggest a possible nutritional intervention with antioxidants eg. LA for treating obesity which has been associated with an increased oxidative state caused by either an increase in ROS production or a decrease in the antioxidant levels (Prieto-Hontoria et al, 2009;Carbonelli et al, 2011;Koh et al, 2011). In this context, it has been demonstrated that LA reduces body weight and adiposity in rodents (Kim et al, 2004;Prieto-Hontoria et al, 2009) and humans (Carbonelli et al, 2011).…”

“…LA for treating obesity which has been associated with an increased oxidative state caused by either an increase in ROS production or a decrease in the antioxidant levels (Prieto-Hontoria et al, 2009;Carbonelli et al, 2011;Koh et al, 2011). In this context, it has been demonstrated that LA reduces body weight and adiposity in rodents (Kim et al, 2004;Prieto-Hontoria et al, 2009) and humans (Carbonelli et al, 2011). Several mechanisms may contribute to the anti-obesity effects of LA including the suppression of hypothalamic AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase) activity (Shen et al, 2005), which, in turn, leads to a reduction in food intake.…”