The effect of corn gluten hydrolysates containing high leucine on weight reduction in diet‐induced obese rats

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the effect of corn gluten hydrolysates, which contains high branched amino acid (BCAA) especially leucine, on weight reduction. To induce overweight, 8 weeks old male Sprague Dawley rats (n=80) were divided into two groups. One group (n=8) was fed normal fat diet (16.9% energy from fat) and the other group (n=72) was fed high fat diet (60.0% energy from fat) for 13 weeks. After 13 weeks, we sacrificed normal fat diet group (n=8) and some of high fat diet group (n=8) for the identification of overweight. The overweight was confirmed by body weight, fat pad weight, plasma lipid concentration and some hepatic enzyme activities. After then high fat diet group was randomly divided into 8 groups according to their fat levels (16.9% or 60% energy from fat) and kinds of treatment (casein, corn gluten hydrolysates, leucine or BCAA). Body weights were measured once a week and food intake was measured three times a week during experimental period. The body weight and fat pad loss in the corn gluten hydrolysates were higher than other groups regardless their fat intake. Leucine group was tended to gain less weight than control group. In conclusion, ingestion of corn gluten hydrolysates has a weight loss effect in high fat diet‐ induced obese rats. This study suggests that corn gluten hydrolysates can be available for reducing body weight as a functional food.