Effects of Potato Fiber and Potato‐Resistant Starch on Biomarkers of Colonic Health in Rats Fed Diets Containing Red Meat

Abstract: The effects of red meat consumption with and without fermentable carbohydrates on indices of large bowel health in rats were examined. Sprague‐Dawley rats were fed cellulose, potato fiber, or potato‐resistant starch diets containing 12% casein for 2 wk, then similar diets containing 25% cooked beef for 6 wk. After week 8, cecal and colonic microbiota composition, fermentation end‐products, colon structure, and colonocyte DNA damage were analyzed. Rats fed potato fiber had lower Bacteroides‐Prevotella‐Porphyromonas group compared to other diet groups. Colonic Bifidobacterium spp. and/or Lactobacillus spp. were higher in potato fiber and potato‐resistant starch diets than in the cellulose diet. Beneficial changes were observed in short‐chain fatty acid concentrations (acetic, butyric, and propionic acids) in rats fed potato fiber compared with rats fed cellulose. Phenol and p‐cresol concentrations were lower in the cecum and colon of rats fed potato fiber. An increase in goblet cells per crypt and longer crypts were found in the colon of rats fed potato fiber and potato‐resistant starch diets. Fermentable carbohydrates had no effect on colonic DNA damage. Dietary combinations of red meat with potato fiber or potato‐resistant starch have distinctive effects in the large bowel. Future studies are essential to examine the efficacy of different types of nondigestible carbohydrates in maintaining colonic health during long‐term consumption of high‐protein diets. Practical Application: Improved understanding of interactions between the food consumed and gut microbiota provides knowledge needed to make healthier food choices for large bowel health. The impact of red meat on large bowel health may be ameliorated by consuming with fermentable dietary fiber, a colonic energy source that produces less harmful by‐products than the microbial breakdown of colonic protein for energy. Developing functional red meat products with fermentable dietary fiber could be one way to promote a healthy and balanced macronutrient diet.     

Ibotenic acid lesions of the basolateral, but not the central, amygdala interfere with conditioned taste aversion: Evidence from a combined behavioral and anatomical tract-tracing investigation.

Rats (Rattus norvegicus) with almost complete ibotenic acid lesions (at least 90%) of the basolateral amygdaloid complex (BLA) failed to learn a conditioned taste aversion (CTA; Experiment 1A). In these same BLA rats, the bidirectional parabrachial–insular pathway that courses through the central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce) was shown to be spared (Experiment 1B), indicating that the BLA per se is critical for CTA learning. In contrast to the deleterious effect of BLA lesions on CTA, ibotenic acid lesions of the Ce did not block CTA learning (Experiment 2). Nonreinforced preexposure to the gustatory stimulus attenuated CTA acquisition in normal rats, and, under these conditions, rats with BLA lesions were no longer impaired (Experiment 3). Thus, ibotenic acid lesions centered over the Ce, sparing a considerable extent of the BLA, together with the testing procedure used in previous experiments (e.g., L. T. Dunn & B. J. Everitt, 1988), led to the belief that the CTA deficits reported after electrolytic lesions of the amygdala were the result of incidental damage to fibers of passage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blackcurrant anthocyanins modulate CCL11 secretion and suppress allergic airway inflammation

CCL11, a chemokine, is linked to the early development of airways eosinophilia in allergic asthma. Therefore, CCL11 production is a target for abrogating eosinophilic‐driven airway inflammation. Blackcurrants are high in compounds that regulate inflammation, particularly anthocyanins. In this study, we investigated the effect of oral blackcurrant supplementation on allergen‐induced eosinophilia and CCL11 production; we also profiled key compounds in blackcurrants that were linked to this effect. Ten milligram per kilogram (total anthocyanins) of a commercially available, anthocyanin‐rich New Zealand “Ben Ard” blackcurrant extract (“Currantex 30”) attenuated ovalbumin‐induced inflammation, eosinophilia (by 52.45 ± 38.50%), and CCL11 production (by 48.55 ± 28.56%) in a mouse model of acute allergic lung inflammation. Ten blackcurrant polyphenolic extracts were also found to suppress CCL11 secretion by stimulated human lung epithelial cells in vitro. Correlation analysis identified potential blackcurrant polyphenolic anthocyanin constituents specifically delphinidins and cyanidins, involved in CCL11 suppression. Our findings show oral supplementation with New Zealand blackcurrant is effective in reducing lung inflammation, and highlight the potential benefit of developing cultivars with specific polyphenolic profiles for the creation of functional foods with desirable biological activity.     

How fish oils could support our friendly bacteria

Commensal gut bacteria are generally considered to be friendly bacteria, since they can help their host in numerous ways. These can include breaking down undigested food to produce metabolites (by‐products), which can be a fuel source for gut cells and can help to regulate the immune system, amongst many other beneficial functions that support the host's health. Probiotic bacteria are bacteria that offer a benefit to their host. They are used in dietary supplements and many are of the genus Lactobacilli. We tested whether gut cells respond differently to a commensal bacterium (Lactobacillus gasseri) and two pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus), and also whether the responses could be altered with PUFAs. We used a cell co‐culture model containing a layer of colorectal cells, with immune cells in a porous compartment beneath. This model represents the outer cell lining of our lower gut and the immune cells that sit underneath in an area called the lamina propria. We showed that commensal L. gasseri increased the secretion of the immune signalling protein TGF‐β1 (Transforming Growth Factor β1), along with increased expression of its encoding gene signal. TGF‐β1 has an important role in promoting tolerance towards commensal bacteria and has a role in dampening immune responses following inflammation. The pathogenic bacteria had no effect on the amount of TGF‐β1. Our results indicate that L. gasseri could have a way of promoting its own survival in the gut by inducing tolerance towards itself, an effect which pathogenic bacteria do not have. When eicosapentaenoic acid was added to the cell culture model along with L. gasseri, there was a greater increase in TGF‐β1 gene expression. This early research shows the potential of combining fish oil with probiotic bacteria to promote probiotic survival in the gut and/or dampening inflammatory responses.     

Effects of dietary broccoli fibre and corn oil on serum lipids, faecal bile acid excretion and hepatic gene expression in rats

To determine the effects of broccoli fibre and corn oil on lipid metabolism, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing high (30%) or low (5%) corn oil, in combination with either 7.5% broccoli fibre or cellulose, for 4 months. High corn oil groups had significantly lower serum cholesterol and triglycerides than had low corn oil groups (p < 0.001). Broccoli fibre also lowered serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels compared to cellulose fibre. Faecal bile acid concentrations were higher in high corn oil-fed rats than in low corn oil-fed rats, with broccoli fibre inclusion in high corn oil diets resulting in higher faecal bile acid concentrations. Regardless of corn oil level, broccoli fibre supplementation in the diet resulted in an increase (p = 0.018) in hepatic cytochrome P450, family 7A1 (CYP7A1) expression. High corn oil feeding resulted in reduced expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and increased expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1a (CPT1a) and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that high dietary corn oil and broccoli fibre have beneficial effects on lipid metabolism. Corn oil lipid-lowering effects may be due to alteration of hepatic expression of genes involved in lipid synthesis and increased rate of cholesterol catabolism to bile acids. Broccoli fibre may also act via its physical properties to reduce enterohepatic bile acid recycling and intestinal lipid absorption, and increase luminal binding of bile acids, resulting in increased faecal bile acid excretion.