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 α-methylglucoside (α-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.
Resumen
Varios estudios han sugerido que el estrés oxidativo podría actuar como desencadenante y agravante del estado inflamatorio asociado a la obesidad y podría ser un potencial nexo de unión entre la excesiva ganancia de peso y las co-morbilidades asociadas. Así, se ha propuesto el tratamineto con antioxidantes naturales como posible terapia contra el desarrollo de obesidad así como sus complicaciones asociadas. Por ello, el objeto del presente trabajo fue investigar en ratas Wistar macho los efectos de la suplementación de una dieta estándar o alta en grasa con un antioxidante, el ácido lipoico (AL) (0,25g/ 100g de comida) durante 56 días sobre la ganancia de peso corporal, la adiposidad, la eficiencia metabólica y la absorción intestinal de azúcares. La suplementación de la dieta con AL indujo una menor ganacia de peso corporal y redujo el tamaño del tejido adiposo blanco total, tanto en ratas alimentadas con dieta control como alta en grasa. Además, disminuyó la ingesta. La ganancia de peso en el grupo alimentado con dieta alta en grasa y AL fue menor que la de su correspondiente grupoPair-Fed (P<0,05), el cual recibía la misma cantidad de comida que los animales tratados con AL pero sin este ácido. De hecho, la suplementación con ácido lipoico redujo la eficiencia metabólica y disminuyó significativamente la absorción intestinal de α-metilglucósido (α-MG) tanto en ratas control como obesas. Estos resultados sugieren que los efectos beneficiosos de la suplementación de la dieta con AL sobre la ganancia de peso corporal están mediados, al menos en parte, por la reducción observada en la ingesta de comida y en la eficiencia metabólica. Además, la acción inhibitoria del AL sobre el transporte intestinal de azúcares podría explicar, en parte, la menor eficiencia metabólica observada en los animales tratados con AL justificando, por consiguiente, los efectos beneficiosos del AL sobre la obesidad.
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Prieto-Hontoria, P.L., Pérez-Matute, P., Fernández-Galilea, M. et al. Lipoic acid prevents body weight gain induced by a high fat diet in rats: Effects on intestinal sugar transport. J. Physiol. Biochem. 65, 43–50 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03165968
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03165968