pectins and Body-Weight

Fruit consumption is associated with a decreased risk of CVD in cohort studies and is therefore endorsed by health authorities as part of the '5 or more a day' campaigns. A glass of fruit juice is generally counted as one serving. Fruit may cause protection by affecting common risk factors of CVD.. Apples are among the most commonly consumed fruits and were chosen for a comprehensive 5 × 4 weeks dietary crossover study to assess the effects of whole apples (550 g/day), apple pomace (22 g/day), clear and cloudy apple juices (500 ml/day), or no supplement on lipoproteins and blood pressure in a group of 23 healthy volunteers.. The intervention significantly affected serum total and LDL-cholesterol. Trends towards a lower serum LDL-concentration were observed after whole apple (6.7%), pomace (7.9%) and cloudy juice (2.2%) intake. On the other hand, LDL-cholesterol concentrations increased by 6.9% with clear juice compared to whole apples and pomace. There was no effect on HDL-cholesterol, TAG, weight, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, inflammation (hs-CRP), composition of the gut microbiota or markers of glucose metabolism (insulin, IGF1 and IGFBP3).. Apples are rich in polyphenols and pectin, two potentially bioactive constituents; however, these constituents segregate differently during processing into juice products and clear juice is free of pectin and other cell wall components. We conclude that the fibre component is necessary for the cholesterol-lowering effect of apples in healthy humans and that clear apple juice may not be a suitable surrogate for the whole fruit in nutritional recommendations.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Beverages; Blood Pressure; Body Weight; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cholesterol, HDL; Cholesterol, LDL; Cross-Over Studies; Dietary Fiber; Female; Fruit; Gastrointestinal Tract; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Insulin; Male; Malus; Microbiota; Middle Aged; Pectins; Polyphenols; Single-Blind Method; Triglycerides; Waist-Hip Ratio; Young Adult

Little is known about the relative effects of fermentable fiber (FF) vs. nonfermentable fiber (NFF) on energy regulation in humans. We compared 27 +/- 0.6 g/d supplements of FF (pectin, beta-glucan) and NFF (methylcellulose) for their ability to decrease ad libitum energy intake (EI) and hunger, increase satiety and cause spontaneous body weight and fat losses. Men and women (n = 11) aged 23-46 y, BMI 20.0-34.4 kg/m2, consumed first NFF and then FF for 3 wk each, with a 4-wk washout period between phases. Daily satiety assessed with analog scales was higher with NFF than FF (60.7 +/- 1.0 vs. 57.7 +/- 0.8 mm, P = 0.01). However, there were no differences in reported EI (NFF < FF by 7%, P = 0.31, NFF < baseline by 9.5%, P = 0.11), body weight (NFF 0.13 kg, P = 0.73; FF 0.13 kg, P = 0.60) or fat percentage (NFF -0.3%, P = 0.56; FF -0.1%, P = 0.66) within either phase. In contrast to findings in animals, NFF was more, rather than less satiating than FF, and use of neither NFF nor FF preparations was associated with body weight or fat loss. These pilot results suggest no role for short-term use of FF and NFF supplements in promoting weight loss in humans consuming a diet ad libitum.

Topics: Adult; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Diet; Dietary Fiber; Dietary Supplements; Energy Intake; Female; Fermentation; Glucans; Humans; Hunger; Male; Methylcellulose; Middle Aged; Pectins; Pilot Projects; Satiation

This study was designed to determine whether a soluble dietary fiber supplement containing gum arabic and pectin in apple juice would lower serum lipids in 110 hypercholesterolemic men and women. Subjects were stabilized on an American Heart Association Phase I Diet for 8 wk. Those with elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, despite dietary modification, continued to follow the diet and were randomly assigned to receive 720 mL/d of apple juice containing 0 (control), 5, 9 or 15 g of gum arabic and pectin (4:1 ratio) for 12 wk, followed by a 6-wk apple juice-only washout phase. Serum lipid profiles, body weight and 3-day diet records were collected at 3-wk intervals. No significant differences among groups were observed in serum lipid responses during treatment or washout. During the treatment phase, mean serum total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations increased by 3.5 and 28.5%, respectively (all groups combined, P < 0.0001). The high density lipoprotein cholesterol level did not change significantly from baseline in any group. During washout, mean total cholesterol concentration rose by an additional 2.4% (P < 0.05) compared with the value at the end of the treatment period, suggesting that the apple juice used to deliver the fiber supplement may have contributed to the adverse changes observed in the serum lipid profile. These findings do not support the hypothesized hypocholesterolemic effect of the gum arabic/pectin (4:1) mixture studied, but do underline the importance of selecting appropriate vehicles for delivery of dietary fiber mixtures.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Beverages; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Diet; Dietary Fiber; Dietary Supplements; Female; Fruit; Gum Arabic; Humans; Hypercholesterolemia; Infant, Newborn; Male; Middle Aged; Pectins; Solubility; Viscosity

Soluble-fiber breakfast cereals were examined for their cholesterol-lowering ability in 58 male patients with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients followed a step 1 diet for a minimum of 6 wk, then were randomly assigned to groups incorporating either corn flakes or one of two soluble-fiber cereals (pectin enriched or psyllium enriched) in the diet for an additional 6 wk. During the diet-only phase, total cholesterol dropped 3.8%. During the cereal-plus-diet phase, total and LDL cholesterol values of the pectin-enriched cereal group dropped an additional 2.1% (P = 0.243) and 3.9% (P = 0.16), respectively, and they dropped 5.9% (P = 0.005) and 5.7% (P = 0.034), respectively, in the psyllium-enriched cereal group. During the cereal-plus-diet phase, no significant effects on HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, or body weight were found within or between any cereal groups. These results support use of soluble-fiber cereals as an effective and well-tolerated part of a prudent diet in the treatment of mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Blood Glucose; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Dietary Fiber; Eating; Edible Grain; Humans; Hypercholesterolemia; Iron; Lipids; Male; Middle Aged; Pectins; Psyllium; Solubility

A mixture of soybean proteins and pectins (EMD 35327) was given to 10 obese people with and without diabetes for a period of 3 weeks in a dosage of a total of 1000 kcal/d. The control group consisted of 10 obese who were given a conventional 1000 kcal mixed diet. In comparison to the control group the test group showed a highly significant decrease of serum cholesterol, a significantly better loss of weight and somewhat lower post-prandial blood sugar and triglyceride levels. The latter two could not be statistically proven due to the small number of probands. There were no side effects worth noticing.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Blood Glucose; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Diabetes Mellitus; Diet, Reducing; Dietary Proteins; Female; Glycine max; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity; Pectins; Triglycerides

To validate neuroprotective effect of pectin against neuropathic pain in diabetic rodents.. Pectin was isolated and characterised from different sources to validate its neuroprotective effect against T2DM associated neuropathic pain. The antioxidant activity of pectins was done by the DPPH method. Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was induced in Wistar albino rats by high-fat diet and high-fat emulsion feeding for 2 weeks followed by a single i.p. of Sterptozotocin in 3rd week. The animals were grouped as positive control and Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck peel pectin (CSL-OP) as test group and treated for the next 4 weeks. Body weight and blood glucose were measured up to 8 weeks; however, behavioural assessment was done at the end of 5th to 8th week.. CSL-OP restored the reduced body weight and elevated blood glucose with increased pain threshold and improved walking performance.. CSL-OP prevented progression of early diabetic neuropathy with anti-oxidant activity.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Blood Glucose; Body Weight; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Neuropathies; Hyperalgesia; Neuralgia; Neuroprotective Agents; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Large intestine cancer is one of the most relevant chronic diseases taking place at present. Despite therapies have evolved very positively, this pathology is still under deep investigation. One of the recent approaches is the prevention by natural compounds such as pectin. In this paper, we have assessed the impact of citrus pectin and modified citrus pectin on colorectal cancer in rats (Rattus norvegicus F344) to which azoxymethane and DSS were supplied. The lowest intake of food and body weight were detected in animals fed with citrus pectin, together with an increase in the caecum weight, probably due to the viscosity, water retention capacity and bulking properties of pectin. The most striking feature was that, neither citrus pectin nor modified citrus pectin gave rise to a tumorigenesis prevention. Moreover, in both, more than 50% of rats with cancer died, probably ascribed to a severe dysbiosis state in the gut, as shown by the metabolism and metagenomics studies carried out. This was related to a decrease of pH in caecum lumen and increase in acetate and lactic acid levels together with the absence of propionic and butyric acids. A relevant increase in Proteobacteria (Enterobacteriaceae) were thought to be one of the reasons for enteric infection that could have provoked the death of rats and the lack of cancer prevention. However, a reduction of blood glucose and triacylglycerides level and an increase of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillaceae were found in animals that intake pectin, as compared to universal and modified citrus pectin feeding.

Topics: Acetates; Animals; Azoxymethane; Bifidobacterium; Blood Glucose; Body Weight; Butyrates; Carcinogenesis; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Citrus; Colorectal Neoplasms; Dextran Sulfate; Disease Models, Animal; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Lactic Acid; Lactobacillaceae; Male; Metagenomics; Pectins; Phylogeny; Propionates; Proteobacteria; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Triglycerides

The dietary fibre product examined is a pectic polysaccharide extract from carrot (Daucus carota), enriched for pectin fragments comprising mainly rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) (abbreviated product name cRG-I). To assess the safety of cRG-I for use as food ingredient, repeated-dose oral toxicity and in vitro genotoxicity studies were conducted. In the subchronic toxicity study (OECD test guideline 408), Wistar Hannover rats received cRG-I at dietary levels (w/w) of 0%, 2.5%, 5% and 10% for 13 weeks. cRG-I induced no adverse effects in this study. The NOAEL was 10% in the diet (equivalent to 6.9 and 7.8 g cRG-I/kg body weight/day in male and female rats, respectively). A package of three in vitro genotoxicity tests (Ames, mouse lymphoma and micronucleus assay in human peripheral blood lymphocytes) was negative for induction of point mutation and chromosome damage. An initial Ames test showed a weak positive response in Salmonella typhimurium strain (TA1537). This response was non-reproducible and attributed to microbial contamination as subsequent tests with an irradiated batch of cRG-I including a repeat Ames test were negative. cRG-I was therefore considered to be non-mutagenic.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Daucus carota; Diet; Dietary Exposure; DNA Damage; Female; Male; Micronucleus Tests; No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Rhamnogalacturonans; Risk Assessment; Toxicity Tests, Subchronic

Sarcocornia perennis subsp. perennis is an edible halophyte with reported potential health benefits. To disclose the potential contribution of its polysaccharides to health benefits, in this work, hot water extracts were prepared and a holistic approach was performed, relating the simultaneous effects on different organs and molecular components administered orally, using the extract and the purified polysaccharides. The material rich in polysaccharides extracted with hot water was separated into two fractions by dialysis, allowing to obtain the pectic polysaccharides and the low molecular weight compounds. Oral administration of the extract and its fractions (120 mg/kg/day, 30 days) in mice was evaluated by histopathological analysis of liver, lymphoid (thymus and spleen) and reproductive organs (testis and epididymis). Extract and purified polysaccharides promoted a megakaryocytes increase in spleen, while low molecular weight compounds affected the reproductive organs (vacuolation and germ cells release in lumen), causing hydropic change in liver and degeneration of seminiferous tubules. This is the first study on polysaccharides from Sarcocornia. These pectic polysaccharides were shown to protect the immune and reproductive systems against toxic chemicals inducers of oxidation reactions. Their purification is a fundamental step, since the low molecular weight compounds of the edible parts may contribute to lesions in reproductive organs.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Amaranthaceae; Animals; Body Weight; Histology; Mice; Organ Size; Pectins; Polysaccharides; Solubility; Water; Xenobiotics

In this study, the beneficial effects of a homogalacturonan(HG)-type pectic polysaccharide from Ficus pumila L. fruits (FPLP) in obese mice were investigated. The 17-week FPLP treatment effectively attenuated obesity, as mainly demonstrated by the reductions of body weight, serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. The decreased Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes abundance ratio, enriched Akkermansia, and reduced Blautia abundance suggested that FPLP ameliorated the HFD-induced gut dysbiosis. FPLP also influenced the levels of metabolites altered upon HFD feeding, including increases in myristoleic acid and pentadecanoic acid levels. The correlation studies indicated that FPLP ameliorated HFD-induced rise in TC and LDL-C levels through regulating gut microbial community and their associated metabolites. In conclusion, this study extends our understanding of the relationships among gut microbiota (Akkermansia and Blautia), metabolites (myristoleic acid and pentadecanoic acid), HG-type pectin and its TC- and LDL-C- lowering functions.

Topics: Akkermansia; Animals; Bacteroidetes; Body Weight; Diet, High-Fat; Dysbiosis; Ficus; Firmicutes; Fruit; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Gastrointestinal Tract; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Obesity; Pectins; Polysaccharides; Population Dynamics

The effects of pectin from the natural vitamins and herbs on the ovary of mice induced by monosodium glutamate (MSG) leads to over accumulations in living cells and finally produces cellular toxicity and damage, pectin helps to rapidly reduce this changes.. Cytotoxicity of monosodium glutamate was investigated histologically by using hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stains. The animals received (MSG) in drinking water at a dose of 3 g kg-1 b.wt., in drinking water for three weeks. The ovary tissues were subjected to histological and morphological analysis.. In female rats treated with a dose of MSG of 3 g kg-1 daily in drinking water clear toxicological effects on the ovary tissue were significantly obtained. The mice were then anesthetized, dissected the ovary samples were taken from female mice and kept in a 10% neutral formalin solution to make tissue slides after that examined under the microscope to see the differences. Sections showed the occurrence of several histopathological changes in the ovary.. This study concluded that the effectiveness of pectin therapy on ovarian cells destroyed by the effect of monosodium glutamate, which has proven to be very effective in treating all affected and restoring tissue to normal.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Blood Pressure; Body Weight; Female; Food Additives; Mice; Nitric Oxide; Ovary; Oxidative Stress; Pectins; Rats; Sodium Glutamate; Temperature

Consumption of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) is associated with reduced risk of obesity. This study aimed to compare the effects of cereals (oats) and legumes (soybean), rich in different classes of NSP, on appetite regulation and fat accumulation in rats. Soy pectin fermented more efficient than cereal arabinoxylan in rats. Soy pectin and oat β-glucan were utilized mainly in the caecum of rats. Only small amount of maltodextrin, cello-oligosaccharides and xylo-oligosaccharides were detected in the digesta. Caecal fermentation of soy pectin produced significantly higher concentration of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) compared to the control. Retroperitoneal (RP) fat-pad weight was significantly lower for rats fed with soybean meal enriched diet than for controls. An inverse correlation between rat RP fat-pad weight and concentration (and proportion) of butyrate was observed. Consumption of soy pectin and oat β-glucan enriched foods to produce targeted SCFAs in vivo could be a potential strategy to lower fat mass accumulation and a potential tool to manage obesity.

Topics: Animals; Appetite Regulation; Avena; beta-Glucans; Body Weight; Cecum; Dietary Fiber; Digestion; Fermentation; Glycine max; Humans; Obesity; Pectins; Polysaccharides; Rats

This study was to investigate the effect of zinc pectin oligosaccharides chelate (Zn-POS) on growth performance, serum enzyme activities, tissue zinc accumulation, metallothionein (MT) concentrations, and gene expression of zinc transporters (ZnT) in broilers. Five hundred forty 1-d-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 5 dietary groups with 6 replicates of 18 birds per replicate. The diets were formulated with the same supplemental Zn level (80 mg/kg diet) but different amount of the Zn-POS: 0, 200, 400, 600, and 800 mg Zn-POS/kg diet. ZnSO4 was used to adjust to the desired amount of the Zn (80 mg/kg) in the Zn-POS diets. Broilers were fed with the experimental diets for 42 d including the starter (days 1 to 21) and grower (days 22 to 42) phases. Our results showed that dietary supplementation of Zn-POS linearly and quadratically increased (P < 0.05) the average daily gain and gain-to-feed ratio during 22 to 42 d and 1 to 42 d as well as body weight on day 42, whereas reduced (P < 0.05) the sum of mortality and lag abnormalities in broilers on day 42. Besides, serum alkaline phosphatase and copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activities increased (P < 0.05) linearly and quadratically in response to dietary Zn-POS supplemental level on day 42. Dietary Zn-POS supplementation increased Zn accumulation in serum (linear, P < 0.05), liver (linear, P < 0.05), and pancreas (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05). In addition, Zn-POS supplementation linearly and quadratically increased (P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively) MT concentrations in liver and pancreas of broilers. Pancreatic mRNA levels of MT, ZnT-1, and ZnT-2 increased (P < 0.05) linearly and quadratically, and the mRNA expression of metal response element-binding transcription factor-1 increased linearly (P < 0.05), in response to dietary Zn-POS supplementation. In conclusion, supplementation of Zn-POS in the diet increases Zn enrichment in the metabolic organs such as liver and pancreas and promotes productive performance in broilers.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Body Weight; Chickens; Diet; Dietary Supplements; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Glycine max; Liver; Male; Membrane Transport Proteins; Metallothionein; Minerals; Oligosaccharides; Pancreas; Pectins; Random Allocation; Zinc

Topics: Animal Feed; Animal Fur; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Biological Availability; Body Weight; Dietary Supplements; Glycine; Male; Mink; Oligosaccharides; Pectins; Random Allocation; Time Factors; Zinc Compounds

Galactomannan and citrus pectin are considered 'super fibers' known for altering gut microbiota composition and improving glucose and lipid metabolism. The study aims to investigate the fiber's effect on a nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) model.. Two feeding experiments are carried out using groups of 7-8 week-old male C57BL/6J mice. The diets used are based on a high cholesterol/cholate diet (HCD), such as a nutritional NASH model. Mice are fed a diet with or without 15% fiber-citrus pectin (HCD-CP) or galactomannan (HCD-G) together with the HCD (first experiment), which commenced 3 weeks prior to the HCD (second experiment). Liver damage is evaluated by histological and biochemical parameters. Galactomannan leads to lesser weight gain and improved glucose tolerance, but increased liver damage. This is shown by elevated levels of liver enzymes compared to that with HCD alone. Fibers induce higher steatosis, as evaluated by liver histology. This intriguing result is linked to various changes in the gut microbiota, such as elevated Proteobacteria levels in the galactomannan group, which are correlated with disturbed metabolism and dysbiosis.. In a NASH mouse model, galactomannan increases liver damage but improves glucose metabolism. Changes in the microbiota composition may answer this enigmatic observation.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Diet, High-Fat; Dietary Fiber; Disease Models, Animal; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Galactose; Gastrointestinal Contents; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Glucose Tolerance Test; Lipid Metabolism; Liver; Male; Mannans; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Pectins

Purpose The objective of this study was to evaluate whether pectin feeding would affect the small intestinal function and whether these changes would lead to obesity prevention in rats fed with high-fat diet. Three groups of weaned male rats (ad lib. fed; rats fed with diet containing 15% w/w of citrus pectin; restrictedly pair-fed rats) were fed with either a standard diet (9.5% fat) or a high-fat diet (30% fat) for 10 days. Results Our results revealed that pectin feeding led to significant decreases in body weight, energy intake and fat pad weight in rats fed with the standard as well as high-fat diet. Moreover, compared to the restrictedly pair-fed rats, in both groups of rats fed with the diet containing pectin, significant decrease in duodenal alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity was observed in histochemically stained cryostat sections. In contrast, despite their lower energy intake, restrictedly pair-fed rats showed similar fat pad deposition accompanied by unchanged values of AP activity in comparison to the controls. Conclusions Our findings indicate that daily pectin consumption could be beneficial in suppressing body weight gain and reducing probability of obesity risk in rats fed with a high-fat diet.

Topics: Alkaline Phosphatase; Animal Feed; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Body Weight; Diet, High-Fat; Duodenum; Eating; Energy Intake; Male; Obesity; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Dietary constituents that suppress appetite, such as dietary fibre and protein, may aid weight loss in obesity. The soluble fermentable dietary fibre pectin promotes satiety and decreases adiposity in diet-induced obese rats but effects of increased protein are unknown. Adult diet-induced obese rats reared on high fat diet (45% energy from fat) were given experimental diets ad libitum for 4 weeks (n = 8/group): high fat control, high fat with high protein (40% energy) as casein or pea protein, or these diets with added 10% w/w pectin. Dietary pectin, but not high protein, decreased food intake by 23% and induced 23% body fat loss, leading to 12% lower final body weight and 44% lower total body fat mass than controls. Plasma concentrations of satiety hormones PYY and total GLP-1 were increased by dietary pectin (168% and 151%, respectively) but not by high protein. Plasma leptin was decreased by 62% on pectin diets and 38% on high pea (but not casein) protein, while plasma insulin was decreased by 44% on pectin, 38% on high pea and 18% on high casein protein diets. Caecal weight and short-chain fatty acid concentrations in the caecum were increased in pectin-fed and high pea protein groups: caecal succinate was increased by pectin (900%), acetate and propionate by pectin (123% and 118%, respectively) and pea protein (147% and 144%, respectively), and butyrate only by pea protein (309%). Caecal branched-chain fatty acid concentrations were decreased by pectin (down 78%) but increased by pea protein (164%). Therefore, the soluble fermentable fibre pectin appeared more effective than high protein for increasing satiety and decreasing caloric intake and adiposity while on high fat diet, and produced a fermentation environment more likely to promote hindgut health. Altogether these data indicate that high fibre may be better than high protein for weight (fat) loss in obesity.

Topics: Adiposity; Animals; Body Weight; Caseins; Cecum; Dietary Fats; Dietary Fiber; Male; Obesity; Pectins; Pisum sativum; Plant Proteins, Dietary; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Satiety Response

Soluble fermentable dietary fibre elicits gut adaptations, increases satiety and potentially offers a natural sustainable means of body weight regulation. Here we aimed to quantify physiological responses to graded intakes of a specific dietary fibre (pectin) in an animal model. Four isocaloric semi-purified diets containing 0, 3.3%, 6.7% or 10% w/w apple pectin were offered ad libitum for 8 or 28 days to young adult male rats (n = 8/group). Measurements were made of voluntary food intake, body weight, initial and final body composition by magnetic resonance imaging, final gut regional weights and histology, and final plasma satiety hormone concentrations. In both 8- and 28-day cohorts, dietary pectin inclusion rate was negatively correlated with food intake, body weight gain and the change in body fat mass, with no effect on lean mass gain. In both cohorts, pectin had no effect on stomach weight but pectin inclusion rate was positively correlated with weights and lengths of small intestine and caecum, jejunum villus height and crypt depth, ileum crypt depth, and plasma total glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) concentrations, and at 8 days was correlated with weight and length of colon and with caecal mucosal depth. Therefore, the gut's morphological and endocrine adaptations were dose-dependent, occurred within 8 days and were largely sustained for 28 days during continued dietary intervention. Increasing amounts of the soluble fermentable fibre pectin in the diet proportionately decreased food intake, body weight gain and body fat content, associated with proportionately increased satiety hormones GLP-1 and PYY and intestinal hypertrophy, supporting a role for soluble dietary fibre-induced satiety in healthy body weight regulation.

Topics: Adiposity; Animals; Body Composition; Body Weight; Dietary Fiber; Feeding Behavior; Gastrointestinal Hormones; Gastrointestinal Tract; Male; Pectins; Rats

This study investigates whether pectin supplementation in adult rats can ameliorate age-associated disturbances in peripheral insulin and leptin actions.. Seven-month-old male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: control (rats fed ad libitum a standard-diet), pectin (rats fed ad libitum a standard-diet supplemented with 10% pectin), and pair-fed (rats pair-fed to the pectin group). They were sacrificed after 1 month. Pectin and pair-fed rats showed lower body weight gain and food intake than controls and underwent a decrease in leptin levels and an increase in adiponectin levels. Pectin-treated animals, but not pair-fed ones, showed lower body-fat content and HOMA-IR index after dietary intervention. Compared to controls, pectin-treated rats showed a decline in the expression of genes related to energy uptake (WAT) and lipogenesis (WAT and liver), and increased expression levels of lipolysis- and fatty-acid oxidation-related genes (liver). Some of the changes were not evidenced in the pair-fed group. These effects appear to be associated with improved leptin signaling.. Ten percent pectin supplementation for 1 month in adult rats decreases body-fat content and ameliorates age-related insulin and leptin resistance more intensely than what could be attributed to the decrease in energy intake, overall contributing to better metabolic health.

Topics: Adipose Tissue, White; Aging; Animals; Body Composition; Body Weight; Dietary Fiber; Dietary Supplements; Eating; Gene Expression Regulation; Insulin Resistance; Leptin; Liver; Male; Pectins; Proteins; Rats, Wistar; Stomach

Our previous study isolated an anti-fatigue polysaccharide (HRWP) from the Hippophae rhamnoides berry. In this study, using ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography in turn, a water-soluble homogenous polysaccharide HRWP-A was isolated from HRWP. Structural analysis determined that HRWP-A was a polysaccharide with repeating units of (1→4)-β-d-galactopyranosyluronic residues, of which 85.16% were esterified with methyl groups. An antitumor activity assay showed that HRWP-A could significantly inhibit the Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) growth in tumor-bearing mice. Further experiments suggested that the antitumor effect of HRWP-A might be mediated through immunostimulating activity, as it enhances the lymphocyte proliferation, augments the macrophage activities, as well as promoting NK cell activity and CTL cytotoxicity in tumor-bearing mice. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a natural antitumor high-methoxyl homogalacturonan pectin from the H. rhamnoides berry-a compound that acts as a potential immunostimulant and anticancer adjuvant.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Body Weight; Carbon-13 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Carcinoma, Lewis Lung; Concanavalin A; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; Fruit; Hippophae; Immunologic Factors; Killer Cells, Natural; Lipopolysaccharides; Macrophages; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nitric Oxide; Pectins; Phagocytosis; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

The effects of indigestible carbohydrates, protein type, and protein level on large intestine health were examined in rats. For 21 days, 12 groups of six 12-week-old male Wistar rats were fed diets with casein (CAS), or potato protein concentrate (PPC), providing 14% (lower protein level; LP), or 20% (higher protein level; HP) protein, and containing cellulose, resistant potato starch, or pectin. Fermentation end-products, pH, and β-glucuronidase levels in cecal digesta, and ammonia levels in colonic digesta were determined. Cecal digesta, tissue weights, cecal and colon morphology, and colonocyte DNA damage were also analyzed. Digesta pH was lower, whereas relative mass of cecal tissue and digesta were higher in rats fed pectin diets than in those fed cellulose. Cecal parameters were greater in rats fed PPC and HP diets than in those fed CAS and LP diets, respectively. Short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations were unaffected by protein or carbohydrate type. Total SCFA, acetic acid, and propionic acid concentrations were greater in rats fed LP diets than in those fed HP. Cecal pool of isobutyric and isovaleric acids was greater in rats fed PPC than in those fed CAS diets. PPC diets decreased phenol concentration and increased ammonia concentration in cecal and colonic digesta, respectively. Cecal crypt depth was greater in rats fed PPC and HP diets, and was unaffected by carbohydrates; whereas colonic crypt depth was greater in rats fed cellulose. Myenteron thickness in the cecum was unaffected by nutrition, but was greater in the colon of rats fed cellulose. Colonocyte DNA damage was greater in rats fed LP diets than in those fed HP diets, and was unaffected by carbohydrate or protein type. It was found that nutritional factors decreasing cecal digesta weight contribute to greater phenol production, increased DNA damage, and reduced ammonia concentration in the colon.

Topics: Acetic Acid; Ammonia; Animals; Biomarkers; Body Weight; Cecum; Cellulose; Colon; Cresols; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Proteins; DNA Damage; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Glucuronidase; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Intestine, Large; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Pectins; Phenol; Propionates; Rats, Wistar; Starch

A rhamnogalacturonan (RGal) isolated from Acmella oleracea (L.) R.K. Jansen administered by oral route showed gastroprotective activity against acute lesions induced by ethanol. In this study, we investigated the gastric ulcer healing effect of RGal and its mechanisms of action. Intraperitoneal treatment of animals with RGal protected the gastric mucosa against acute lesions induced by ethanol, with participation of gastric mucus. Furthermore, in the chronic ulcer model, oral administration of RGal accelerates the gastric ulcer healing, accompanied by increasing of cellular proliferation and gastric mucus content, reducing inflammatory parameters and oxidative stress. In addition, the repeated 7 days-treatment of animals with RGal did not show alterations of clinical and behavioral symptoms, body and organs weights or plasmatic biochemical parameters. Collectively, these results showed that RGal has an interesting antiulcerogenic activity and could constitute an attractive molecule of interest for the development of new antiulcer agents.

Topics: Acetic Acid; Animals; Anti-Ulcer Agents; Antioxidants; Asteraceae; Body Weight; Cell Proliferation; Cytoprotection; Ethanol; Female; Gastric Acid; Gastric Mucosa; Glutathione; Mucins; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Stomach; Stomach Ulcer

Hyaluronan-cisplatin conjugate nanoparticles (HCNPs) were chosen as colon-targeting drug-delivery carriers due to the observation that a variety of malignant tumors overexpress hyaluronan receptors. HCNPs were prepared by mixing cisplatin with a hyaluronan solution, followed by dialysis to remove trace elements. The cells treated with HCNPs showed significantly lower viability than those treated with cisplatin alone. HCNPs were entrapped in Eudragit S100-coated pectinate/alginate microbeads (PAMs) by using an electrospray method and a polyelectrolyte multilayer-coating technique in aqueous solution. The release profile of HCNPs from Eudragit S100-coated HCNP-PAMs was pH-dependent. The percentage of 24-hour drug release was approximately 25.1% and 39.7% in pH 1.2 and pH 4.5 media, respectively. However, the percentage of drug released quickly rose to 75.6% at pH 7.4. Moreover, the result of an in vivo nephrotoxicity study demonstrated that Eudragit S100-coated HCNP-PAMs treatment could mitigate the nephrotoxicity that resulted from cisplatin. From these results, it can be concluded that Eudragit S100-coated HCNP-PAMs are promising carriers for colon-specific drug delivery.

Topics: Alginates; Animals; Body Weight; Cell Survival; Cisplatin; Colonic Neoplasms; Glucuronic Acid; HCT116 Cells; Hexuronic Acids; Humans; Hyaluronic Acid; Male; Microspheres; Nanoconjugates; Pectins; Polymethacrylic Acids; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes and risk factors associated to the metabolic syndrome. Consumption of dietary fibres has been shown to have positive metabolic health effects, such as by increasing satiety, lowering blood glucose and cholesterol levels. These effects may be associated with short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), particularly propionic and butyric acids, formed by microbial degradation of dietary fibres in colon, and by their capacity to reduce low-grade inflammation.. To investigate whether dietary fibres, giving rise to different SCFAs, would affect metabolic risk markers in low-fat and high-fat diets using a model with conventional rats for 2, 4 and 6 weeks.. Conventional rats were administered low-fat or high-fat diets, for 2, 4 or 6 weeks, supplemented with fermentable dietary fibres, giving rise to different SCFA patterns (pectin - acetic acid; guar gum - propionic acid; or a mixture - butyric acid). At the end of each experimental period, liver fat, cholesterol and triglycerides, serum and caecal SCFAs, plasma cholesterol, and inflammatory cytokines were analysed. The caecal microbiota was analysed after 6 weeks.. Fermentable dietary fibre decreased weight gain, liver fat, cholesterol and triglyceride content, and changed the formation of SCFAs. The high-fat diet primarily reduced formation of SCFAs but, after a longer experimental period, the formation of propionic and acetic acids recovered. The concentration of succinic acid in the rats increased in high-fat diets with time, indicating harmful effect of high-fat consumption. The dietary fibre partly counteracted these harmful effects and reduced inflammation. Furthermore, the number of Bacteroides was higher with guar gum, while noticeably that of Akkermansia was highest with the fibre-free diet.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Butyrates; Chemokine CCL2; Cholesterol; Colon; Diet; Diet, High-Fat; Dietary Fiber; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Inflammation; Liver; Male; Microbiota; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Succinic Acid; Time Factors

Galectin-3 is a β-galactoside binding lectin with roles in diverse processes including proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation and fibrosis which are dependent on different domains of the molecule and subcellular distribution. Although galectin-3 is known to be upregulated in acute kidney injury, the relative importance of its different domains and functions are poorly understood in the underlying pathogenesis. Therefore we experimentally modulated galectin-3 in folic acid (FA)-induced acute kidney injury utilising modified citrus pectin (MCP), a derivative of pectin which can bind to the galectin-3 carbohydrate recognition domain thereby predominantly antagonising functions linked to this role. Mice were pre-treated with normal or 1% MCP-supplemented drinking water one week before FA injection. During the initial injury phase, all FA-treated mice lost weight whilst their kidneys enlarged secondary to the renal insult; these gross changes were significantly lessened in the MCP group but this was not associated with significant changes in galectin-3 expression. At a histological level, MCP clearly reduced renal cell proliferation but did not affect apoptosis. Later, during the recovery phase at two weeks, MCP-treated mice demonstrated reduced galectin-3 in association with decreased renal fibrosis, macrophages, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and apoptosis. Other renal galectins, galectin-1 and -9, were unchanged. Our data indicates that MCP is protective in experimental nephropathy with modulation of early proliferation and later galectin-3 expression, apoptosis and fibrosis. This raises the possibility that MCP may be a novel strategy to reduce renal injury in the long term, perhaps via carbohydrate binding-related functions of galectin-3.

Topics: Acute Kidney Injury; Animals; Apoptosis; Body Weight; Cell Proliferation; Citrus; Cytokines; Fibrosis; Folic Acid; Galectin 3; Kidney Function Tests; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Organ Size; Pectins; Phytotherapy; Up-Regulation

Pectin-derived acidic oligosaccharides (pAOS) are non-digestible carbohydrates to be used in infant formulae and medical nutrition. To support its safety, the genotoxic potential of pAOS was evaluated. pAOS was not mutagenic in the Ames test. Positive results were obtained in the chromosome aberration test only at highly cytotoxic concentrations. The effects obtained in the mouse lymphoma test were equivocal; pAOS was not mutagenic in vivo. A sub-chronic dietary study, preceded by 4-week parental and in utero exposure phase, investigated general safety. Administration of pAOS did not affect parental health nor pup characteristics. No effects specific for acidic oligosaccharides were observed in the subsequent sub-chronic study. Slight diffuse hyperplasia of epithelial layer of the urinary bladder was noted to result from concurrently elevated urinary sodium, due to high sodium in pAOS, and elevated urinary pH. This phenomenon was confirmed in a mechanistic (sub-chronic) study. In contrast, in rats fed pAOS in combination with NH(4)Cl, an acidifying agent, the induced low urinary pH completely prevented the development of urothelial hyperplasia. Hyperplasia induced by this mechanism in rats is considered not relevant to man. Based on the current knowledge we consider pAOS safe for human consumption under its intended use.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Body Weight; Cell Line, Tumor; CHO Cells; Chromosome Aberrations; Consumer Product Safety; Cricetinae; Cricetulus; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Escherichia coli; Female; Infant Formula; Lactation; Male; Maternal Exposure; Mice; Mitotic Index; Mutagenicity Tests; Oligosaccharides; Organ Size; Pectins; Pregnancy; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Salmonella typhimurium; Toxicity Tests, Chronic; Urinary Bladder

The objective of this study was to verify whether soluble fiber pectin interferes in growth and intestinal iron absorption in rats during iron deficiency anemia recovery. Twenty-one-day-old Wistar rats (n = 48) were fed for 2 weeks on a diet without iron in order to induce iron deficiency anemia. The anemic animals (age = 36 days) were divided into two groups: (1) pectin, 50 g of pectin per kilogram of diet, and (2) control, diet without dietary fiber. Iron was added to the diets for the two groups in order to reverse the anemia. During the iron deficiency anemia recovery phase (3 weeks), the pectin group showed lower mean values (p < 0.05) of weekly food intake (89.18 +/- 10.82; 107.60 +/- 11.70; 114.50 +/- 16.29 g, respectively, for the pectin group and 99.56 +/- 10.60; 116.36 +/- 15.33; 125.66 +/- 17.25 g, respectively, for the control group). The body weight of the pectin group was lower (p < 0.05) during the study's second and third weeks (192.42 +/- 16.67 and 228.75 +/- 19.81 g, respectively, and 202.87 +/- 19.96 and 243.51 +/- 20.44 g for the control group). Pectin led to a reduction in food intake and growth but not to iron absorption when taking into account the regeneration of hemoglobin mass.

Topics: Anemia, Iron-Deficiency; Animal Feed; Animals; Body Weight; Intestinal Absorption; Iron, Dietary; Male; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Solubility

The aim of the present study was to determine whether the addition of soluble fibre in the diet affected protein metabolism in the intestinal tissues, some visceral organs and in skeletal muscle. A diet supplemented with pectin (80 g/kg) was fed to young growing rats and the effect on organ mass and protein metabolism in liver, spleen, small and large intestines and gastrocnemius muscle was monitored and compared with the control group. Protein synthesis rates were determined by measuring [13C]valine incorporation in tissue protein. In the pectin-fed rats compared with the controls, DM intake and body weight gain were reduced (9 and 20 %, respectively) as well as gastrocnemius muscle, liver and spleen weights (6, 14 and 11 %, respectively), but the intestinal tissues were increased (64 %). In the intestinal tissues all protein metabolism parameters (protein and RNA content, protein synthesis rate and translational efficiency) were increased in the pectin group. In liver the translational efficiency was also increased, whereas its protein and RNA contents were reduced in the pectin group. In gastrocnemius muscle, protein content, fractional and absolute protein synthesis rates and translational efficiency were lower in the pectin group. The stimulation of protein turnover in intestines and liver by soluble fibre such as pectins could be one of the factors that explain the decrease in muscle turnover and whole-body growth rate.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Dietary Fiber; Digestive System; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestines; Male; Muscle, Skeletal; Organ Size; Pectins; Protein Biosynthesis; Proteins; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Spleen

Two experiments were performed to compare the effect of pectin and its hydrophobic derivatives on homeostasis of cholesterol and cecal metabolism in male young rats. Control rats were fed a diet supplemented with palm fat and cholesterol (50 and 10 g/kg, respectively). Rats of other groups were fed the same diet containing citrus pectin or octadecylpectinamide (60 g/kg). Diets were fed for 4 weeks. In experiment I, pectinamide of lower degree of amidation (30 %) increased serum HDL cholesterol from 1.20 to 1.43 micromol/ml (p>0.05) at the expense of other cholesterol fractions. In experiment II, pectinamide of a higher degree of amidation (53 %) significantly decreased total serum cholesterol from 2.08 to 1.67 micromol/ml. Amidated pectins at both levels of substitution significantly decreased hepatic concentrations of cholesterol and fat. In both experiments the relative weight of cecum in the pectinamide group was significantly lower than in pectin group. The highest cecal concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) were found in rats fed a diet with pectin (133.2 and 129.3 micromol/g in experiment I and II, respectively). In other groups, cecal SCFA was significantly (pectinamide groups) or non-significantly (controls) lower. In wet feces, SCFA concentrations were higher and butyrate molar proportions lower than in corresponding cecal contents. Pectinamide of a lower or higher degree of substitution significantly increased fecal content of cholesterol from 18.5 and 17.3 micromol/g in controls to 31.8 and 28.0 micromol/g, respectively. Corresponding concentrations of coprostanol were decreased. Effects of pectin on cholesterol homeostasis were absent or marginal. Histological examination revealed that hepatic tissue of control and pectin-fed rats was infiltrated with lipids. The Sudan black-positive material was absent in the liver of rats fed pectinamides. No pathological changes of liver tissue were apparent. In summary, hydrophobic amidated pectins significantly altered cholesterol homeostasis in rats and might be considered as a clinically effective hypocholesterolemic agent. Low cecal SCFA concentrations in rats fed pectinamides suggest that amidation of pectin had decreased its fermentability.

Topics: Amides; Animals; Anticholesteremic Agents; Body Weight; Cecum; Cholestanol; Cholesterol, Dietary; Cholesterol, HDL; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Feces; Fermentation; Homeostasis; Lipid Metabolism; Liver; Male; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Wistar

This paper presents the results of a study whose aim was to test the effects of several doses of pectin and phytosterols on the body weight gain and the FA content in female guinea pigs. The treatments resulted from supplementing with pectin and plant sterol a guinea pig diet (rich in saturated FA), following a 3 x 3 factorial design, with three levels of pectin (0, 3.67 and 6.93%) and three levels of phytosterols (0, 1.37, and 2.45%). Seventy-two female Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were randomly assigned to the treatment groups (8 animals/group), the duration of the treatment being 4 wk. Pectin dietary intake led to a significant increase in body weight (P < 0.001), food consumption (P = 0.025), and feed efficiency (P < 0.001), but no influence of phytosterols on weight gain or food consumption was detected. We found a significant negative effect of the addition of phytosterols on lauric, myristic, and palmitic acid contents in feces, and a positive effect on their concentration in plasma and liver, but no significant effect on stearic acid content. Apparent FA absorption was assessed by calculating the ratio of FA in feces and diets that the absorption of the different FA could be compared, and the negative effect of phytosterol supplementation on these ratios, especially for lauric and myristic acids, was established.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Chromatography, Gas; Dietary Fats; Eating; Fatty Acids; Feces; Female; Guinea Pigs; Liver; Pectins; Phytosterols

1. Three experiments were performed to relate morphological characteristics of the small intestinal mucosal surface to age, dietary factors, small intenstinal microflora and performance of broilers. Characterisation of the small intestinal mucosal surface using a dissecting microscope was based on the orientation of the villi, villus shape and the presence of convoluted villi. 2. In Trial 1, the morphological changes of the mucosal surface were studied weekly in the period from 7 to 28 d of age. At d 7 mainly tongue- and leaf-shaped villi together with some ridge-shaped ones were observed in the middle section of the small intestine, displaying a regular zigzag pattern on 53% of the mucosal surface. During the period from d 7 to 14, the area with ridge-shaped villi increased from 7 to 63% and did not change significantly over the next 2 weeks. 3. In Trial 2, three protein sources, soy isolate (SI), wheat gluten (WG), hydrolysed wheat gluten (HWG) and SI with added L-glutamine (SI + Gln), were studied with respect to their effect as dietary components on villus morphology in the mid-small intestine and performance. Diets were fed with (0 to 14 d) and without pectin (14 to 21 d). Feed conversion ratio on the HWG diet improved in comparison to the native WG diet. During the period 0 to 14 d of age the mucosal area with zigzag-oriented villi increased when the pectin diet was supplemented with Gln. Moreover, weight gain of birds fed the SI + Gln diet increased in the period 41 to 21 d. 4. In Trial 3, a study was made of the morphological response of the villi to a stimulation of microbial activity in the digesta after addition of highly methylated pectin to the soybean meal (SBM) diet. This was performed with and without inoculation of a non-virulent Salmonella typhimurium on d 7. By d 21 the birds fed the pectin diet showed impaired weight gain and higher feed conversion. The pectin affected the mucosal surface by decreasing the area with the zigzag pattern and increasing the area with convoluted, mainly ridge-shaped villi. The Salmonella typhimurium infection increased the effects of pectin on performance and mucosal morphology.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Body Weight; Chickens; Glutens; Glycine max; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestine, Small; Male; Pectins; Poultry Diseases; Salmonella Infections, Animal; Salmonella typhimurium

This study investigates whether some dietary fibers can the toxicity due to cystine added to the diet. Wistar rats were investigated for the effects of adding pectin, sugar beet fiber or konjac mannan to a cystine diet on the growth rate and on the activities of liver antioxidant enzymes and serum enzymes. The addition of pectin, sugar beet fiber or konjac mannan to the cystine diet resulted in a significant increase in both the food intake and body weight gain. Feeding the cystine diet caused lower activities of total and Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase, and of catalase in the liver. The addition of pectin to the cystine diet counteracted the activities of the total and Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase, and of catalase in liver. Of the dietary fibers tested, konjac mannan prevented the elevation of the two enzyme activities in the serum induced by feeding the cystine diet, indicating that this fiber might have the ability to alleviate hepatic damage due to dietary cystine.

Topics: Alanine Transaminase; Animals; Body Weight; Catalase; Cellulose; Copper; Cystine; Diet; Dietary Fiber; Eating; Hypercholesterolemia; Liver; Male; Mannans; Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Superoxide Dismutase; Zinc

To evaluate the effect of apple components on cecal fermentations and lipid metabolism, rats were fed diets containing 5 g/100 g apple pectin (PEC), 10 g/100 g high polyphenol freeze-dried apple (PL) or both (PEC + PL). The cecal pH was slightly acidic (6.49) only in rats fed the PEC + PL diet (controls, 7.02). The cecal short-chain fatty acid pool was enlarged by all the apple fractions, with a peak of 560 micromol in rats fed the PEC + PL diet compared with 189 micromol in controls. Butyrate concentrations were 2-fold greater in rats fed the PL diet than in controls. Substantial concentrations of galacturonate and succinate (approximately 40 mmol/L) were found in the cecum of rats fed the PEC diet and, to a lesser extent, the PEC + PL diet. The PEC + PL diet significantly lowered plasma cholesterol, whereas both the PL and PEC + PL diets lowered plasma triglycerides. Liver cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were lower in rats fed the PEC and PEC + PL diets. Fecal bile acid excretion was markedly reduced, whereas sterol excretion was significantly increased by dietary PEC. Rats fed the PEC and PEC + PL diets also had lower apparent cholesterol absorption than controls (30 compared with 43%). In conclusion, apple pectin and the polyphenol-rich fraction were more effective when fed combined together than when fed separately on large intestine fermentations and lipid metabolism, suggesting interactions between fibers and polyphenols of apple.

Topics: Animals; Anions; Body Weight; Cecum; Drug Combinations; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Fermentation; Flavonoids; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids; Male; Malus; Organ Size; Pectins; Phenols; Polymers; Polyphenols; Rats; Rats, Wistar

The present study explores the dietary effect of pectin on the MLN lymphocyte functions of mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DS)-induced colitis. We found that the immunoglobulin (Ig)A level in mesenteric lymph node (MLN) lymphocytes was high, while the IgE level was lower, in mice fed with pectin than in those fed with cellulose. Interestingly, the fecal IgA concentration of the pectin-fed mice was significantly higher than that of the cellulose-fed mice. The concentrations of interferon-gamma and interleukin (IL)-2 treated with concanavalin A (ConA) were significantly higher in the pectin-fed group than in the cellulose-fed group. Although dietary pectin did not affect the IL-4 and IL-10 levels, the activation-induced IL-4 and IL-10 secretion was lower in MLN cells of the pectin-fed mice than of the cellulose-fed mice following DS-induced colitis. Based on these findings, we propose that the effect of dietary pectin on mice with DS-induced colitis is mediated by the manipulation of Th1 cells. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of IL-4 and IL-10 by dietary pectin may play an important role in promoting a change in Th1/Th2 balance toward Th1-dominant immunity.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Colitis; Cytokines; Dextran Sulfate; Dietary Fiber; Eating; Feces; Female; Immunoglobulin A; Immunoglobulin E; Lymph Nodes; Lymphocytes; Mesentery; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Pectins; Time Factors

Besides others pectin, a soluble fibre, has been reported to be effective in lowering cholesterol levels in both animals and man with hyperlipidemia as well as being able to slow carbohydrate absorption and hence reduce the postprandial rise in blood glucose and serum insulin in patients with type-II diabetes. Aim of this pilot study was to assess the effect of prickly pear consumption on glucose- and lipid metabolism.. In 24 non-diabetic, non-obese males (aged 37-55 years) suffering from primary isolated hypercholesterolemia (n = 12; group A) or combined hyperlipidemia (n = 12; group B) respectively, the influence of prickly pear pectin (Opuntia robusta)-intake on glucose- and lipid metabolism was examined. After an 8 week pre-running phase with a 7506 KJ step-I diet (phase I), 625 KJ were replaced by prickly pear edible pulp (250 g/day) for 8 further weeks (phase II).. Prickly pear leads to a decrease of total cholesterol (12%), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (15%), apolipoprotein B (9%), triglycerides (12%), fibrinogen (11%), blood glucose (11%), insulin (11%) and uric acid (10%), while body weight, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, and lipoprotein(a) remained unchanged.. The hypocholesterolemic action of prickly pear may be partly explained by the fibre (pectin) content, but the hypoglycaemic actions (improvement of insulin sensitivity) in the non-obese, non-diabetic need further investigation to get more insights on the potential advantage of treating the metabolic syndrome.

Topics: Adult; Apolipoproteins B; Blood Glucose; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, LDL; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Fibrinogen; Glucose; Humans; Hypercholesterolemia; Hyperlipidemias; Insulin; Lipid Metabolism; Male; Middle Aged; Opuntia; Pectins; Phytotherapy; Pilot Projects; Plant Preparations; Time Factors; Triglycerides

The effect of consumption for 24 weeks of different amounts (0%, 5% or 10% w/w) of fermentable (pectin and guar gum) or nonfermentable (cellulose and lignin) dietary fibres on cell proliferation and other parameters in large bowel mucosal crypts was studied in rats. In all 12 dietary groups, the crypts located over the distal aggregate of lymphoid nodules (ALN) had more colchicine arrested metaphase figures per midaxial crypt section (MC) and a longer crypt column height than crypts located three to four cm away from this ALN. These differences are attributed to the tropic influence of nodular cells in the ALN. Consumption of fermentable fibre decreased pH in the lumen of the caecum, and glucose, Zn and Cu in serum but increased Ca and Mg in serum. The decrease in caecal pH and serum glucose was significantly correlated with a decrease in MC. Increased intake of the nonfermentable fibre types increased faecal bulk but had no significant correlation with the other measured crypt parameters. Multiple regression analyses was used to model the relationships between the mucosal crypt criterion variables and the two measured predictor variables, caecal pH and serum glucose. Relationships between dietary fibre, ALN, MC, bioavailability of dietary minerals and risk of colorectal cancer are discussed.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cell Division; Cellulose; Dietary Fiber; Galactans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestine, Large; Lignin; Male; Mannans; Microvilli; Minerals; Pectins; Plant Gums; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

The present study was aimed at evaluating the effect of high intracolonic butyrate concentrations, either through fermentation of a soluble fiber-enriched diet or via intracolonic butyrate instillation, on colon cancer in a chemically induced (dimethylhydrazine) rat model. The effects were tested in four groups of dimethylhydrazine-treated rats: (i) rats fed a standard diet, (ii) rats fed a diet enriched with 15% citrus pectin, a soluble fiber that ferments and produces a high concentration of intracolonic butyrate, (iii) rats fed a standard diet and intrarectally instilled with a sodium butyrate solution (50 mM), (iv) rats fed a standard diet and intrarectally instilled with sodium butyrate vehicle solution (100 mM NaCl). The apoptotic index in the distal colon of rats fed pectin was higher than in colonic tissue from rats fed a standard diet. The expression of caspase-1, a cysteine protease implicated in the regulation of programmed cell death, as detected by both Northern and Western analysis, showed the highest mRNA and protein levels in colonic tissue from rats intrarectally instilled with butyrate. Immunohistology confirmed the Western blot findings. Expression of the cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase product, a downstream nuclear substrate for caspase-3 in the apoptotic pathway, was elevated in both the pectin-fed and butyrate-instilled groups. Expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 was significantly reduced following pectin feeding as well as butyrate instillation. The highest expression of Bcl-2 was observed in tumor tissue. A marked reduction in aberrant crypt number was observed in colonic tissue obtained from both the pectin-fed and butyrate-instilled groups relative to rats from the standard diet group. The average tumor volume per rat in both the pectin-fed and butyrate-instilled groups was significantly lower than in rats from the standard diet and the sodium butyrate vehicle-instilled groups. We conclude that high butyrate levels, either instilled or obtained following fermentation of soluble dietary fibers, inhibit early and late events in colon tumorigenesis by controlling the transcription expression and activity of key proteins involved in the apoptotic cascade.

Topics: 1,2-Dimethylhydrazine; Animals; Apoptosis; Blotting, Northern; Blotting, Western; Body Weight; Butyrates; Caspase 1; Colon; Colonic Neoplasms; Diet; Immunohistochemistry; In Situ Nick-End Labeling; Isobutyrates; Male; Models, Biological; Mutagens; Neoplasms; Pectins; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases; Rats; RNA, Messenger; Time Factors

There is evidence that cholesterol and sphingomyelin metabolism are interrelated, and thus the hypothesis tested was that dietary pectin, because it can alter hepatic cholesterol metabolism, would also alter hepatic sphingomyelin metabolism. For that purpose, 4-wk-old female Wistar rats were fed a diet without or with pectin (20 g/100 g) up to 21 d. In accordance with previous work, pectin consumption caused a significant (P < 0.001) reduction in hepatic (65%), whole plasma (37%), and VLDL (80%) cholesterol levels. Pectin also significantly reduced VLDL sphingomyelin concentrations (57%), but raised the amount of sphingomyelin in the high density lipoproteins (HDL)-2 fractions (58%), so that the level of sphingomyelin in whole plasma remained unaffected. Pectin did not affect the sphingomyelin concentration in the liver. Pectin consumption did not affect the hepatic sphingomyelin synthesizing enzymes, serine palmitoyltransferase, phosphatidylcholine:ceramide phosphocholine transferase, or phosphatidylethanolamine:ceramide phosphoethanolamine transferase. In contrast, dietary pectin activated both lysosomal (28%) and plasma membrane (26%) sphingomyelinase and thus may have enhanced sphingomyelin degradation. An attempt was made to describe the effects of dietary pectin on sphingomyelin metabolism in terms of altered fluxes through liver and plasma, with whole liver and whole plasma concentrations of sphingomyelin remaining unaffected.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cell Membrane; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, VLDL; Diet; Enzyme Activation; Female; Kinetics; Lipoproteins, HDL; Lipoproteins, HDL2; Lipoproteins, VLDL; Liver; Lysosomes; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase; Sphingomyelins

The present experiments were aimed at developing novel dietary fibers to aid in reduction of colon cancer risk. We assessed the effects of coffee (non-fiber fraction), coffee fiber (arabino-galactose polymer) and inulin (oligo-fructose) in male F344 rats using formation of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon as the measure of preventive efficacy (or lack of such). At 5 weeks of age, groups of rats were fed the AIN-76A (control) and experimental diets that contained 1% coffee, 10% coffee fiber, 10% inulin, 10% pectin (positive control for fiber) or 200 p.p.m. piroxicam (a known ACF inhibitor). At 7 weeks of age, all animals were s.c injected with AOM (15 mg/kg body wt) once weekly for 2 weeks. All rats were killed 8 weeks after the last AOM injection and ACF were counted. The contents of the cecum were analyzed for bacterial beta-glucuronidase activity and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Dietary administration of coffee fiber significantly suppressed AOM-induction of colonic ACF, in terms of total number, as well as crypt multiplicity and number of ACF/cm2 colon (P < 0.01-0.001). Inulin diet had no significant effect on total ACF, but had reduced the number of ACF/cm2 (P < 0.05). Whereas coffee had no effect on ACF formation, 10% pectin diet and 200 p.p.m. piroxicam significantly suppressed colonic ACF (P < 0.001) as had been expected. A significant reduction of cecal beta-glucuronidase activity was observed in the rats fed coffee, coffee fiber and pectin diets. Further, coffee fiber, inulin and pectin increased cecal SCFA levels 3- to 5-fold. These results suggest that coffee fiber can prevent colon cancer risk. Further studies are warranted to determine the full potential of this fiber in pre-clinical efficacy studies.

Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Body Weight; Coffee; Colon; Dietary Fiber; Glucuronidase; Inulin; Male; Pectins; Precancerous Conditions; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344

The effects of RKM in comparison with pectin, algin and agar on lipid levels in serum and liver and on liver histopathology in rats were studied. In addition, the effects of all the tested materials on the composition and output of fecal bile acid were observed. All four kinds of dietary fiber were given at a level of 5% of diet to young male rats of Wistar strain fed on a lipid-rich diet containing 5% lard, 1% cholesterol and 0.25% cholate. All the dietary fibers tested have similar effects on serum lipid composition. In all groups, these substances prevented increases in total cholesterol in fasting serum, but the level of triglyceride was unchanged. The concentrations of total cholesterol and triglyceride in the liver were lower in the RKM group than in the control group and the other three groups. Hepatic histopathological examination also showed the most significant lipotropic effect in the RKM group. The daily output of fecal bile acids (CDCA + GDCA) was significantly increased in the four experimental groups than in the normal group and the control group. The increase of CDCA was more significant than GDCA, suggesting that the increase of fecal bile acids, especially CDCA, may be one of the mechanisms by which RKM and the other three dietary fibers exerts a hypocholesterolemic effect.

Topics: Agar; Alginates; Animals; Anticholesteremic Agents; Body Weight; Chenodeoxycholic Acid; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, Dietary; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Dietary Fiber; Eating; Feces; Glucuronic Acid; Glycodeoxycholic Acid; Hexuronic Acids; Lipids; Liver; Male; Mannans; Molecular Weight; Pectins; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Triglycerides

One-day-old broiler chickens were fed on a control diet based on maize and maize starch or diets containing 30 g/kg of 89% deacetylated chitin (chitosan) or low-methoxyl (34% degree of esterification) pectin. Feeding of the chitosan diet to chickens significantly reduced body weights and feed intakes compared with animals fed on control or pectin diets on days 5 and 11 of the experiment. On day 12, significant reductions in total plasma cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol concentrations were observed among birds fed on the chitosan but not the pectin diet in relation to control-fed animals. A concomitant increase in the plasma HDL-cholesterol:total cholesterol ratio was observed among chitosan-fed chickens. The generally reduced concentrations of primary and total bile acids in the duodenum of birds fed on the fibre-containing diets on day 13 may have been an indication of a delay in the production and/or secretion of bile. Viscosity of the three broiler-chicken diets was measured after suspension in water, acidification and finally neutralization of the suspensions, in an attempt to simulate the effect of changes in pH and dilution of diets occurring in the gizzard and small intestine of chickens. Viscosity of the chitosan diet was significantly elevated after acidification and significantly reduced at neutralization in comparison with the control and pectin-containing diets suggesting that the hypolipidaemic influence of chitosan observed in the present study may be due to interruption of enterohepatic bile acid circulation rather than increased viscosity in the small intestine of chickens. The low viscosity of the pectin diet in vitro together with the absence of a hypocholesterolaemic effect of this diet when fed in vivo precludes any conclusion regarding the hypocholesterolaemic mechanism of pectin observed in earlier studies.

Topics: Animals; Anticholesteremic Agents; Antidiarrheals; Bile Acids and Salts; Body Weight; Chickens; Chitin; Chitosan; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, HDL; Duodenum; Energy Intake; Female; Lipids; Male; Pectins; Viscosity

Hypertrophy of the small intestinal tissue evolved during the initial 9 days in rats fed pectin or guar gum. Hypertrophy of the caecal and colonic tissue continued beyond day 9. Caecal hypertrophy was observed in rats fed pectin, guar gum or resistant starch, while colonic hypertrophy was observed only in rats fed pectin or resistant starch. There is a time lag in the adaptive response of the caecum and colon as compared with the small intestine, at least for dietary polysaccharides. This time lag is suggested to be related to the time required for the microflora to adapt to the dietary PS.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Dietary Carbohydrates; Digestive System; Eating; Energy Metabolism; Galactans; Male; Mannans; Organ Size; Pectins; Plant Gums; Polysaccharides; Rats; Rats, Wistar

The effect of repeated oral administration of polydextrose and pectin on intestinal macromolecular transport and digestive enzymes development was examined in the suckling rat. The administration of polydextrose for 7 days resulted in pancreatic hyperplasia, followed by the enhancement of trypsin activity. The length of the small intestine and the wet weight of the cecum were significantly increased by polydextrose treatment. Maltase activity was increased in a dose dependent manner by polydextrose, but not by pectin treatment. Lactase activity was not changed by either treatment. The absorption of bovine IgG was precociously depressed by polydextrose, but not by pectin treatment. These results suggest that oral administration of polydextrose induces precocious maturation of the small intestine and exocrine pancreas in the suckling rat.

Topics: Animals; Animals, Suckling; Body Weight; Dietary Fiber; Digestion; Disaccharidases; DNA; Food Additives; Glucans; Immunoglobulin G; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestine, Small; Intestines; Paraffin Embedding; Pectins; Proteins; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Because of the potential significance of colonic bacteria in colon carcinogenesis, we investigated the effect of pectin of different types on fecal bacterial enzymes (beta-glucuronidase, beta-glucosidase and tryptophanase) at various periods of time after feeding rats with pectin-containing diets during azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis. The diet supplemented with 20% apple pectin or 20% citrus pectin decreased the multiplicity of colon tumors, and the number of tumors was significantly decreased in the group fed apple pectin. The incidence of colon tumors in the apple pectin group was lower than that in the control group. The mean tumor size was similar among the three groups. Apple pectin feeding decreased fecal beta-glucosidase and tryptophanase levels. Furthermore, a significant decrease in the activity of beta-glucuronidase was observed in the apple pectin group during the initiation phase. These findings suggest that the protective effect of pectin on colon carcinogenesis may be dependent on the type of pectin and be related to the decrease of beta-glucuronidase activity in the initiation stage of carcinogenesis.

Topics: Adenocarcinoma; Animals; Azoxymethane; beta-Glucosidase; Body Weight; Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell; Colonic Neoplasms; Feces; Fruit; Glucuronidase; Male; Pectins; Rats; Tryptophanase

The effects of specific dietary interventions on incidence of carcinogen-induced cancer and on cryptal cell proliferation in areas of the colon located either over aggregates of lymphoid nodules (ALN) or away from ALN was investigated. Groups of dimethylhydrazine (DMH) treated rats or non-DMH-treated rats were fed a basal AIN-76 diet less fiber of any type, or the basal fiber free diet supplemented with 10% pectin and with 5%, 10%, or 20% corn oil. The adenocarcinoma (AC) incidence was determined in regions of the colon, i.e. ascending, descending, descending over the ALN and descending away from the ALN. The results indicate that: (i) factors associated with ALN promote AC formation, (ii) dietary modifications (addition of pectin and of 20% corn oil to the diet) each cause significant site specific suppression of AC incidence, (iii) DMH-treatment rendered crypts non-responsive to the suppression of cryptal cell proliferation which occurred in the rats not treated with DMH (suggestive of a DMH-induced loss in the regulation of cell proliferation) and (iv) reduction of AC incidence was not always accompanied by reduction in crypt cell proliferation. Studies of intervention procedures designed to prevent colon cancer should take into account the colon site specific tumorigenic response to the preventive agent and should not rely on a single biomarker to predict the efficacy of the intervention.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cell Division; Colonic Neoplasms; Corn Oil; Diet; Intestinal Mucosa; Male; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Hypocholesterolemic activities and other properties of three different molecular weight pectin were examined. The low-molecular-weight pectin (M(r) not equal to 66,000) obtained by decomposition of original pectin (M(r) not equal to 750,000) had the properties of low viscosity and high solubility, but it lost hypocholesterolemic activities in rats. On the other hand, the medium-molecular-weight pectin (M(r) not equal to 185,000) had characteristics of both low viscosity and hypocholesterolemic activities.

Topics: Animals; Anticholesteremic Agents; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Feeding Behavior; Liver; Male; Molecular Weight; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Viscosity

Five mash and two pelleted diets were tested in broiler chickens (7 to 19 d). Mash diets consisted of a basal fraction diluted with either .5% pectin or .5% guar gum. Mash pectin and guar gum diets contained either 3% lactose (PL3m and GL3m diets, respectively) or 6% lactose (PL6m and GL6m diets, respectively). Compositions of pelleted diets (PL3p and GL3p) were those of PL3m and GL3m diets, respectively. All diets contained .5% polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG) except the PL3m0 diet. The latter diet differed from PL3m diet by the PEG content, only. The real applied viscosities of pectin and guar gum diets were 1.48 and 4.94 mL/g, respectively, No effect of PEG was detected on growth performances, and excreta losses of lactose, lactic acid, and water. No negative effect of guar gum compared to pectin was observed on body weight (19 d), except with pelleted diets (P < .05). Feed:gain ratios for guar gum diets were 7% higher (P < or = .001) that those of pectin diets. The AMEn values of guar gum diets were 4% lower (P < or = .001) than those of pectin diets. For mash diets, lactose digestibilities were lower (P < .05) with guar gum than with pectin. Increasing lactose level from 3 to 6% did not affect (P > .05) AMEn values, feed: gain ratios, and body weights (19 d) but reduced (P > .001) lactose digestibilities from 78 to 64%. The positive effects of pelleting on body weights (19 d) were much less pronounced with guar gum than with pectin (P < .05). The AMEn values of pelleted diets (PL3p) and GL3p) were, on average, 2.5% lower (P = .005) than their mash counterparts (PL3m and GL3m). Water losses related to feed intake were greater with guar gum than with pectin (P < .001) and with 6% lactose than with 3% (P = .001) but were not affected (P > .05) by pelleting. Lactic acid losses related to feed intake were increased by guar gum compared with pectin (P < .001), with more pronounced effects induced by high lactose level (P < .05) and pelleting (P < .05). In many respects, the effects of guar gum seemed similar to those observed in an acid liquid diarrhea.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Body Weight; Chickens; Dietary Fiber; Energy Metabolism; Food, Formulated; Galactans; Lactates; Lactic Acid; Lactose; Male; Mannans; Pectins; Plant Gums; Polyethylene Glycols; Regression Analysis; Viscosity; Water

Prickly pear pectin intake decreases plasma LDL concentrations by increasing hepatic apolipoprotein B/E receptor expression in guinea pigs fed a hypercholesterolemic diet. To investigate whether prickly pear pectin has an effect on cholesterol absorption and on enzymes responsible for hepatic cholesterol homeostasis, guinea pigs were fed one of three semipurified diets, each containing 15 g lard/100 g diet: 1) the lard-basal diet with no added cholesterol or prickly pear pectin (LB diet); 2) the LB diet with 0.25 g added cholesterol/100 g diet (LC diet); or 3) the LC diet containing 2.5 g prickly pear pectin/100 g diet, added at the expense of cellulose (LC-P diet). Animals fed the LB diet had the lowest plasma LDL and hepatic cholesterol concentrations, followed by animals fed the LC-P diet (P < 0.001). Hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase activity was highest in the group fed the LB diet, with similar values for animals in the other two groups. A positive correlation existed between plasma LDL cholesterol concentration and hepatic acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase activity (r = 0.87, P < 0.001). Cholesterol absorption was not different among the three dietary groups. These results indicate that the decreased plasma and hepatic cholesterol concentrations of animals fed prickly pear pectin are not explained by differences in cholesterol absorption but rather are due to mechanisms that alter hepatic cholesterol homeostasis, resulting in lower plasma LDL concentrations.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cholesterol, Dietary; Cholesterol, LDL; Guinea Pigs; Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases; Intestinal Absorption; Male; Microsomes, Liver; Pectins; Plant Extracts; Sterol O-Acyltransferase

On the basis of an analysis of energy metabolism measurements on adult pigs, fed on 92 ratios with very heterogeneous nutrient composition, the following prediction equations for gross energy (y1), digestible (y2) and metabolizable energy (y3) as well as for energy deposition effect of ratios (y) (kJ) are presented: y1 = 23.6z1 + 39.8z2 + 17.3z3 + 16.0z4 + 18.9z5 y2 = 23.6x1 + 39.8x2 + 17.3x3 + 16.0x4 + 17.2x5 y3 = 20.5x1 + 39.8x2 + 17.3x3 + 16.0x4 + 17.0x5 y = 11.0x1 + 34.0x2 + 12.7x3 + 11.6x4 + 5.0x7 + (12.0-0.14(80-x6))(x5-x7) [table: see text]

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Body Weight; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Fats; Dietary Proteins; Digestion; Energy Intake; Energy Metabolism; Pectins; Starch; Swine

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of fiber feeding on short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in laboratory rats and in an in vitro fermentation model using fecal inocula from rats adapted to a high fiber diet. In addition, the effect of fiber intake on endogenous sterol synthesis was evaluated. Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups and fed a control or 30% fiber diet (cellulose, pectin or pea fiber) for 4 wk. In vitro fermentation was compared with measurements of cecal SCFA content of fiber-adapted rats. Sterol synthesis in isolated hepatocytes was determined in groups of five to seven rats fed 15% dietary fiber for 4 wk. Cellulose was poorly fermented in both the in vitro and in vivo experiments. Pectin fermentation produced high levels of propionate, whereas pea fiber was associated with notable butyrate production. Adaptation to pectin produced seven times more SCFA in rat cecal contents (515 +/- 78 mumol) in comparison to a fiber-free diet (70.6 +/- 4.9 mumol), with similar results observed in vitro. Sterol synthesis in hepatocytes of rats fed pectin was significantly greater than in those of control or cellulose-fed rats. Despite significantly higher rates of SCFA production in pectin-fed rats, cholesterol synthesis was not inhibited, suggesting that SCFA are not the cholesterol-lowering factor of highly fermentable fiber sources.

Topics: Acetates; Acetic Acid; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Bacteria; Body Weight; Butyrates; Butyric Acid; Cellulose; Cholesterol; Dietary Fiber; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Feces; Fermentation; Intestine, Large; Liver; Male; Pectins; Propionates; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 7.5% dietary fiber as cellulose (control), pectin, psyllium or oat bran with or without 0.3% added cholesterol for 3 wk. Among rats fed cholesterol, liver total lipid and cholesterol concentrations were significantly lower in groups fed pectin, psyllium and oat bran compared with cellulose-fed controls. Cholesterol feeding resulted in significantly greater liver cholesterol in rats fed cellulose, psyllium and oat bran but not in those fed pectin. Among rats fed cholesterol, total serum cholesterol levels were significantly lower in those fed pectin than in those fed psyllium, oat bran or cellulose. When cholesterol was fed, the oat bran-fed group had significantly higher butyrate and the pectin-fed group had significantly higher propionate concentrations in the hepatic portal vein than did cellulose-fed controls. The groups fed psyllium, oat bran and pectin all had significantly higher fecal neutral sterols than did the cellulose-fed group when cholesterol was fed. Without dietary cholesterol only pectin-fed rats had significantly higher fecal excretion of neutral sterols than those fed cellulose. Dietary fiber did not influence fecal acidic sterol excretion. However, the addition of cholesterol to these fiber diets was accompanied by a significantly higher bile acid excretion than that of animals fed cellulose without cholesterol. The results of this study indicate that soluble dietary fibers may exert their hypocholesterolemic effect by increasing excretion of fecal neutral sterols.

Topics: Animals; Bile Acids and Salts; Body Weight; Cellulose; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, Dietary; Dietary Fiber; Drinking; Eating; Edible Grain; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Feces; Lipids; Liver; Male; Pectins; Psyllium; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Solubility; Sterols

The flux through the sterol biosynthetic pathway was studied in hepatocytes isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats fed diets containing one of four fiber sources: cellulose, pectin, oat bran and wheat bran. Sterol synthesis measured by the incorporation of tritiated water or [2-14C]mevalonic acid was not inhibited in hepatocytes isolated from animals fed diets containing cellulose, pectin, oat bran or wheat bran when compared to animals fed a fiber-free diet. Based on these results, it is concluded that the intake of fiber has no inhibitory effect on endogenous sterol synthesis. In fact, in comparison to that in fiber-free controls, sterol synthesis was markedly elevated in pectin- and wheat bran-fed animals. In the case of the pectin-treated animals, the higher synthetic rate corresponded to an increase in 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cellulose; Cholesterol; Coenzyme A-Transferases; Dietary Fiber; Edible Grain; Energy Intake; Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases; Lipids; Liver; Male; Organ Size; Pectins; Phosphatidylcholine-Sterol O-Acyltransferase; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Triticum

This study examines the effect of dietary fiber supplements of different degrees of bacterial fermentability on biochemical indicators of vitamin B-12 deficiency in rats. Groups of rats were fed a fiber-free diet deficient in vitamin B-12 or the fiber-free diet diluted with 5% of a poorly fermentable dietary fiber (cellulose, lignin or alginic acid) or a highly fermentable fiber (pectin, guar gum or xylan). Poorly fermentable fibers had no significant effect on apparent B-12 status, whereas the highly fermentable fibers significantly increased urinary methylmalonic acid and depressed oxidation of [14C]propionate to 14CO2. Pectin consistently induced significantly greater effects than did xylan or guar gum. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that fermentable fibers stimulate bacterial propionate production and exaggerate certain biochemical indicators of B-12 deficiency. Since pectin had a more pronounced effect than did other fermentable fibers, the possibility that pectin may also interfere with B-12 absorption requires further study.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cellulose; Dietary Fiber; Fermentation; Intestines; Male; Malonates; Methylmalonic Acid; Oxidation-Reduction; Pectins; Propionates; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

As little as 5% of pectin added to a fiber-free diet elevates urinary methylmalonic acid (MMA) severalfold in vitamin B-12--deprived rats. The present study examines whether increased urinary MMA reflects lower vitamin B-12 status or occurs only because of fermentation of pectin by intestinal bacteria and increased production of propionate, a precursor of MMA. By monitoring urinary and fecal excretion of 57Co after a tracer dose of [57Co]vitamin B-12, we found the biologic half-life of vitamin B-12 to be 59 d for rats fed a fiber-free diet and only 19 d for rats fed a 5% pectin diet. Also, pectin-fed rats oxidized only 12% of a 1-mmol dose of [14C]propionate to 14CO2 in 2 h, whereas rats fed the fiber-free diet expired 33% of the dose. Finally, high urinary MMA persisted even after the removal of pectin from the diet. We conclude that dietary pectin accelerates vitamin B-12 depletion in rats, possibly by interfering with enterohepatic recycling of vitamin B-12. By stimulating microbial propionate production, pectin and other fermentable fibers may also contribute to increased urinary MMA in vitamin B-12 deficiency, but a larger propionate pool does not account for the other effects of pectin on vitamin B-12 status.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cobalt Radioisotopes; Dietary Fiber; Feces; Half-Life; Kidney; Liver; Male; Methylmalonic Acid; Oxidation-Reduction; Pectins; Propionates; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Vitamin B 12

This study was conducted to determine in rats to what extent fermentable carbohydrates alter the mineral composition of cecal contents and the absorption of the major cations. The carbohydrates studied were as follows: an oligosaccharide (lactulose, 10%); a soluble fiber (pectin, 10%); and an amylose-rich starch, incompletely broken down in the small intestine (amylomaize starch, 25 or 50%). All of these carbohydrates elicited a marked enlargement of the cecum, a drop of cecal pH and an increase in the volatile fatty acids (VFA) pool. With the lactulose diet, the VFA concentration was the lowest, whereas VFA absorption was similar to that observed with the 10% pectin or 25% amylomaize diets. From comparisons between germfree and conventional rats adapted to a fiber-free diet, it appears that VFA are required as counter anions to maintain high concentrations of cations, especially sodium. In conventional rats fed fermentable carbohydrates, sodium concentration in the cecal fluid was approximately 80 mM, except with the lactulose diet (49.5 mM), due to osmotic effects of lactulose. There was, compared to the fiber-free diet, an increase in the cecal concentrations of potassium, calcium and phosphate, but not of magnesium; nevertheless, the cecal pool of all of these minerals was considerably increased. Potassium absorption was increased by fermentable carbohydrates in the cecum, which also appears to be a major site of magnesium and calcium absorption. Thus, fermentable carbohydrates shift aborally the absorption of the major cations, and this point is especially interesting in regard to calcium, since an enhanced supply of calcium in the large bowel has been invoked for fiber effects on colonic carcinogenesis.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cations; Cecum; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Fiber; Fatty Acids; Fermentation; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Lactulose; Male; Minerals; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Starch

The fermentation of pectin by colonic bacteria produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) which are then absorbed by the host. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pectin, added to a chemically defined diet, would increase hepatic lipogenesis and whether this effect is mediated by intestinal bacteria. Eighteen Sprague-Dawley rats underwent placement of a feeding gastrostomy and a swivel apparatus. Postoperatively, rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) No Pectin received a fat-free chemically defined diet, 2) Pectin received the same diet with the addition of 1% (w/v) pectin, and 3) Neomycin received the same diet with 1% w/v pectin and neomycin (80 mg/kg of body weight daily). On the 5th postoperative d, all diets included 12.5% (v/v) deuterium as D2O. After the infusion of the labeled diets for 24 hr, the content and deuterium enrichment of liver palmitate, stearate and oleate were measured and the production rates calculated. The liver content and production rates of these fatty acids were higher in Pectin animals than in either the No Pectin or Neomycin animals. Since the effect of pectin on hepatic lipogenesis was reduced by the concomitant administration of the intestinal antibiotic neomycin, it appears that this effect depends on the bacterial fermentation of pectin. It is postulated that the SCFA produced during pectin fermentation promote lipogenesis via a direct stimulatory effect, in addition to being carbon donors.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Diet; Fatty Acids; Intestinal Mucosa; Lipids; Liver; Male; Nitrogen; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

The effect of administering high levels of folic acid to vitamin B12-deficient animals was studied. In B12 deficiency histidine oxidation is decreased. This is the result of both decreased liver folate levels and increases in the proportion of methyltetrahydrofolates. The purpose of this study was to determine if the addition of very high levels of folic acid to B12-deficient diets could increase liver folates and thereby restore histidine oxidation. Rats were fed a soy protein B12-deficient diet containing 10% pectin which has been shown previously to accelerate B12 depletion. When this diet was supplemented with B12 and folic acid, histidine oxidation was 5.4% in 2 h and the livers contained 3.49 micrograms of folate/g. In the absence of B12, the histidine oxidation rate was 0.34% and the liver folate level was 1.33 micrograms/g. When 200 mg/kg of folic acid was added to the B12-deficient diet there was no increase in histidine oxidation (0.35%) but the liver folates were increased to 3.68 micrograms which is about the same as that with B12 supplementation. The percentage tetrahydrofolate of the total liver folates was the same with and without a high level of dietary folic acid. Thus there was an increase in the absolute level of tetrahydrofolate without any increase in folate function as measured by histidine oxidation. Red cell folate levels were the same with and without B12, which is in contrast to the markedly lower liver folate levels in B12 deficiency. These data suggest a difference between B12 regulation of folate metabolism in the liver and in the bone marrow.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Diet; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Erythrocytes; Folic Acid; Histidine; Liver; Male; Malonates; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Tetrahydrofolates; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

The effects of increasing amounts of differing single-fiber sources in chemically-defined and nutritionally-equivalent diets on morphometric measurements of the rat small and large intestinal mucosa were examined. Male Wistar rats received a fiber-free diet, or diets containing 4.5% or 9.0% cellulose, pectin, or hemicellulose. Cellulose and pectin increased jejunal (but not ileal) villus and crypt heights, whereas hemicellulose increased ileal (but not jejunal) mucosal height. Moreover, cellulose and pectin (but not hemicellulose) increased crypt heights in cecum and proximal (but not distal) colon. Parallel increases in the mitotic index were seen with cellulose and pectin diets, but there was a decrease with hemicellulose, suggesting different mechanisms for altered patterns of cell renewal induced by orally-administered single-fiber sources. These changes indicate that differing single-fiber sources exert differential structural effects along the length of the small and large intestine in the rat.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cellulose; Dietary Fiber; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestine, Large; Intestine, Small; Male; Mitotic Index; Pectins; Polysaccharides; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

Pectin-induced changes in microflora have been shown to elevate the covalent binding of 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,6-DNT)-related materials to total rat hepatic macromolecules. Therefore, the effect of diets varying in pectin content on the induction of foci and hepatic tumors induced by 2,6-DNT was studied in male F344 rats. 2,6-DNT (3.0-3.5 and 0.6-0.7 mg/kg/day) was incorporated into NIH-07 (NIH), an open formula cereal-based diet high in pectin content, AIN-76A (AIN), a purified pectin-free diet, or AIN-76A supplemented with 5% pectin (AP). Hepatic foci were scored after histochemical staining for gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), canalicular adenosine triphosphatase or glucose-6-phosphatase following administration of test diets for 3, 6 and 12 months. The number of foci per cm3 of liver increased in a dose- and time-department manner following incorporation of 2,6-DNT into test diets with NIH greater than AP greater than AIN. In the NIH diet, 2,6-DNT did not alter the phenotypic distribution of foci. Animals fed control or 2,6-DNT-containing AIN and AP diets had few or no GGT foci throughout the study. Hepatocellular carcinomas and neoplastic nodules were observed only in rats fed NIH containing 2,6-DNT. The concentrations of 2,6-DNT-related material covalently bound to hepatic macromolecules after a single oral dose of radiolabeled 2,6-DNT given after 12 months on the diets increased in control rats and in rats receiving low dose 2,6-DNT in the diet with AIN less than AP less than NIH. These studies show that the carcinogenicity of 2,6-DNT differs depending on whether rats are fed an NIH or AIN (+/- pectin) diet. The results suggest that diet-induced alterations in the covalent binding of 2,6-DNT are not the sole factor in determining the carcinogenic response to 2,6-DNT. Furthermore, unidentified contaminants in cereal-based diets may influence foci and tumor production in rat liver during carcinogen treatment.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Body Weight; Dietary Fiber; Dinitrobenzenes; gamma-Glutamyltransferase; Glucose-6-Phosphatase; Liver; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental; Male; Nitrobenzenes; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344

Apparent intestinal permeability was determined indirectly by orally administering a poorly absorbed dye, phenol red, to rats and measuring its recovery in feces and in urine. Increased apparent permeability was recognized by increased dye recovery in urine and by an increased ratio of urinary to fecal dye recovery. Guar gum, pectin, carrageenan type I (80% kappa, 20% lambda), carrageenan type II (iota) and cellulose were each fed at levels of 5 and 15% (wt/wt) of the diet for 31 d to male Fischer 344 rats. The average initial weight of rats was 230 g. Rats fed 15% guar gum gained significantly less weight than most of the other rats (P less than 0.05). Phenol red recovery was measured at 2 and 4 wk after the beginning of the experiment. At 2 wk urinary recoveries of phenol red were high in rats fed fiber-free and carrageenan type II diets, indicating increased apparent permeability. By 4 wk, adaptation had apparently taken place. Urinary dye recoveries were lower in every diet group, and most fiber-containing diet groups gave significantly lower recoveries than did the fiber-free group. Fecal recovery of phenol red was high in the cellulose, carrageenan I, and 5% carrageenan II groups, intermediate in the 5% pectin and 15% carrageenan II groups, and low in the fiber-free, guar gum and 15% pectin groups at both 2 and 4 wk. The ratio of phenol red recovery from urine to that from feces, another index of apparent intestinal permeability, was higher in the fiber-free diet group than in all the other groups. Rats fed 15% dietary fiber had higher average ratios than those fed the same fiber at 5%. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that intestinal permeability to foreign substances may be altered considerably by diet.

Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Body Weight; Carrageenan; Cellulose; Dietary Fiber; Food; Galactans; Intestinal Absorption; Male; Mannans; Pectins; Permeability; Phenolsulfonphthalein; Plant Gums; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344

The enzyme activity of the caecal microflora from weanling rats was determined after feeding 1 of 3 basal diets (purified fibre-free; purified plus cellulose; and stock), with or without additional dietary fibre (pectin, i-carrageenan or carboxymethylcellulose 5% w/w). The wet weight of caecal contents and total bacterial numbers were similar for the purified fibre-free and purified plus cellulose diets, yet were significantly higher in animals fed the stock diet. Pectin supplementation of the basal diets had no effect of caecal bacterial numbers, but significantly increased total nitrate reductase activity per caecum except when added to stock diet. Carrageenan decreased caecal bacterial numbers and most enzyme activities with both purified diets, and to a lesser extent with the stock diet. Carboxymethylcellulose increased bacterial numbers and enzyme activities, particularly beta-glucosidase and nitrate reductase when added to the purified diet but not when added to either the purified diet plus cellulose or the stock diet. The results demonstrate that the effects of dietary fibre components on the rat caecal microflora are dependent upon the initial fibre content of the diet base.

Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Body Weight; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium; Carrageenan; Cecum; Dietary Fiber; Gastrointestinal Contents; Male; Pectins; Rats

The effect of the addition of pectin to an elemental diet on the healing of experimental colonic anastomoses was investigated. Transection and anastomosis of the ascending colon and feeding gastrostomy were performed in 24 Sprague-Dawley rats. All rats then received an elemental diet, and 12 of them had 1% (w/v) citrus pectin added to their diet. On the seventh postoperative day, animals that received pectin-supplemented diets had significantly greater bursting pressures at the anastomoses (266 versus 234 mm Hg, p less than 0.04) and significantly lower colonic mucosal pH (6.2 versus 6.8, p less than 0.001) than animals that received the elemental diet only. The colons from animals fed pectin also had significantly higher hydroxyproline content at the anastomosis than those of the control animals (46.6 versus 40.7 micrograms hydroxyproline nitrogen/mg tissue nitrogen, p less than 0.05). The decreased intracolonic pH is consistent with the hypothesis that improved healing is a local effect mediated by the presence of short-chain fatty acids resulting from the fermentation of pectin.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Colon; Enteral Nutrition; Fatty Acids; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Intestinal Mucosa; Male; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Tensile Strength; Wound Healing

We assayed the lipid content of bile from rats that had been fed either a standard diet (5% fat) or a high fat diet (25% fat, 1.2% cholesterol) in the presence or in the absence of various dietary fibers (namely, wheat bran, pectin and cellulose). The cholesterol concentration in bile from rats fed the high fat diet plus wheat bran or pectin was lower than that of the rats fed the high fat, high cholesterol diet without fiber. Bile phospholipids did not vary significantly from one group to another. In comparison to the standard diet, the high fat, high cholesterol diet led to a greater ratio of primary to secondary bile salts and a higher level of glycoconjugates. The observed differences may be explained by a variation in the metabolism of bile salts brought about by the difference in diet.

Topics: Animals; Bile; Bile Acids and Salts; Body Weight; Cellulose; Cholesterol, Dietary; Dietary Fats; Dietary Fiber; Lipid Metabolism; Male; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Triticum

The nutritional effects that the addition of 2 and 4% of citrus pectin produce on the pig, was investigated. Forty pigs were divided into two treatments and fed with and without pectin during the growth and finishing period. Dorsal back-fat thickness was measured in all pigs before slaughtering (103 +/- 1.5 kg). The addition of 2% of pectin in the growth period (41 to 70 kg live weight) produce a decrease of 6 and 3% in the daily weight gain and the feed conversion rate, respectively. The addition of 4% of pectin in the finishing period (71 to 103 kg live weight) induced a highly significant (p less than 0.01) increase of 125 g (15%) in the daily weight gain and equal feed conversion rate as compared to the control treatment. The average thickness of back-fat in pigs subjected to the pectin treatment was 2 mm (8%) less than in those of the control group. In conclusion, we may report that the addition of pectin during the finishing period produces an increase in the daily weight gain rate without affecting feed conversion. Besides, it decreases the back-fat thickness.

Topics: Animal Husbandry; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Body Weight; Diet; Pectins; Swine

Dietary pectin at levels of 0, 3, 6 and 8% was fed ad libitum to rats for 8 wk to evaluate whether the bioavailability of vitamin E fed at 0.001% of the diet was affected by pectin. Rats fed 3% pectin were not different in any vitamin E parameters from those fed 0% pectin. By the end of the study body weights were significantly lower in the 6 and 8% pectin groups after adjusting for their nonsignificant trend of lower food intake. At wk 8, liver vitamin E levels were reduced in the 6 and 8% pectin group compared to values at the start of the study. Both groups had significantly higher red blood cell hemolysis compared to 0% pectin at 8 wk. Fecal fat excretion was not different among the diet groups, but weights of the small and large intestines were significantly increased in rats fed 6 or 8% pectin compared to those fed 0 or 3%. Our results show that 6 and 8 but not 3% dietary pectin decreased vitamin E availability in rats.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Diet; Digestive System; Liver; Male; Nutritive Value; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Tissue Distribution; Vitamin E

The hypocholesterolaemic effects of pectins were studied in a series of five experiments in weanling Sprague-Dawley rats. Expt A examined the effects of differing levels of dietary fat on plasma and liver lipids. Rats were given diets containing 100 g pectin, National Formulary (NF)/kg, and either 50,100, 150 or 200 g oil/kg. All diets contained 10 g cholesterol/kg. Plasma cholesterol levels were lower in all pectin-fed groups compared with rats given the control diet containing 100 g Solkafloc and 100 g oil/kg. Liver lipid and cholesterol levels increased with increasing fat content of the diet, reaching a plateau at 150 g fat/kg diet, but were still significantly lower in all pectin-fed groups compared with the control group. Expt B. The effects of molecular weight and degree of methoxylation of pectins were studied in five groups of rats given either a control diet containing 100 g Solkafloc/kg or high molecular weight, high methoxyl pectin (HMW HMP); high molecular weight, low methoxyl pectin (HMW LMP); low molecular weight, high methoxyl pectin (LMW HMP); low molecular weight, low methoxyl pectin (LMW LMP). All diets in this and subsequent experiments contained 100 g fat and 10 g cholesterol/kg. Plasma cholesterol levels were significantly lower than control values only in the HMW HMP group. Compared with controls, animals given HMW pectins had lower levels of liver lipid and liver cholesterol; on the LMW HMP diet the liver cholesterol, but not the liver lipid, was lower. Expt C. An attempt was made to clarify the possible effect of degree of methoxylation by feeding diets containing either 100 g Solkafloc/kg, 100 g pectin NF/kg or 100 g very high methoxyl pectin/kg. Plasma cholesterol levels were significantly reduced by both pectins but there was no difference in effect between the two. Both had similar viscosities suggesting that this is a more important factor than methoxyl content. Expts D and E. Effects of dose on hypocholesterolaemic effects of HMP and LMP were studied. Diets containing 50 or 100 g Solkafloc, HMP or LMP/kg were given in Expt D, and 25 g Solkafloc or HMP/kg, 50 g Solkafloc, HMP or LMP/kg and 100 g Solkafloc or LMP/kg in Expt E. Plasma cholesterol levels were significantly reduced in groups given 50 or 100 g HMP/kg and in groups given 100 g LMP/kg. HMP were found to be more effective at lowering plasma cholesterol levels than LMP. LMW pectins were not effective. This suggests that the hypocholesterolaemic effects are at least pa

Topics: Animals; Anticholesteremic Agents; Body Weight; Dietary Fats; Eating; Feces; Gastrointestinal Contents; Intestines; Lipids; Liver; Male; Molecular Weight; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

Male Sprague-Dawley rats (50--70g) were fed a standard laboratory diet containing 6% dietary fiber substances (diet I), the same diet supplemented with 5% guar (diet II), 10% wheat bran (diet III), or 5% pectin of high (76%) methylic esterification (diet IV), or a fiber-free diet (diet V). After a 6-week feeding period, the body weight of the animals had increased to 300--350g. The common bile duct was then canulated and the exocrine pancreatic function tested under urethane anesthesia (1.5 g/kg body weight). The tested fiber substances had no effect on the basal pancreatic secretion of volume, bicarbonate, lipase, amylase or protein, or on the wet weight and histological appearance of the organ. However, the fiber substances influenced the pancreatic response to maximal exogenous stimulation with secretin (3.0 CU/100 g X hour) and cholecystokinin (0.6 IDU/100 g X hour) and the enzyme content of the gland significantly. Compared with diet V, diet I increased the DNA content of the pancreas and its secretion of bicarbonate and protein, and decreased the protein concentration in the gland. Diet II reduced the pancreatic content of trypsinogen and protein. Diet III decreased the protein content, but increased the bicarbonate secretion, which was also increased by diet IV. -- We conclude that fiber substances influence stimulated secretion and the enzyme content of the pancrease to a varying degree.

Topics: Amylases; Animals; Bicarbonates; Body Weight; Dietary Fiber; DNA; Galactans; Lipase; Male; Mannans; Pancreas; Pectins; Plant Gums; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

Several studies have suggested that dietary fibers, especially water-soluble sources, are effective agents for lowering plasma cholesterol. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of various fibers on the composition of apoproteins in high density lipoproteins. Rats were fed experimental diets that contained either 20% wheat bran, oat bran or cellulose or 5% pectin or guar gum for 4 weeks. Final body weight was similar among groups. HDL cholesterol and total apoprotein concentrations were not significantly altered by diet. The percentage of apo A-I was significantly elevated and apo E and the apo C's were significantly lower in the guar gum group relative to the wheat bran group. Lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase activity and the C-II-to-C-III ratio were highest in the guar gum group. Differences in the absorption and subsequent metabolism of lipid could account for differences in HDL composition.

Topics: Animals; Apolipoproteins; Body Weight; Cellulose; Cholesterol; Dietary Fiber; Edible Grain; Galactans; Lipoproteins, HDL; Male; Mannans; Pectins; Plant Gums; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

We have previously proposed that the inhibiting effects of pectin on feed consumption and growth might be due in part to the reduction it causes in protein digestibility. The present work was intended to test this hypothesis by feeding higher levels of protein in order to compensate for the lower digestibility. We fed diets containing 10, 20 and 30% casein (initial levels) and 0, 4.8, 16.7 and 28.6% pectin (by diet dilution). Despite the higher casein levels, pectin strongly inhibited the animals' feed intake, growth, protein efficiency ratio (PER), net protein ratio (NPR) and net protein utilization (NPU) as well as protein and energy digestibilities. Apart from determining the base (zero pectin) level of the various parameters measured, the dietary casein level in itself did not influence the effect of pectin on feed intake, digestible energy intake, protein digestibility, body weight growth or parameters of protein utilization such as PER, NPR and NPU. We thus cannot conclude that these effects of pectin were to any major extent secondary to the reduction in protein digestibility observed in these animals.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Diet; Dietary Proteins; Digestion; Energy Metabolism; Feces; Feeding Behavior; Male; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

Citrus pectin (40 g/kg diet) significantly depressed weight gain and food utilisation when fed to young chicks. This effect was not associated with pathological manifestations or signs of deficiency. Feeding pectin at 40 g/kg diet did not affect the retention of energy, nitrogen, lipids or calcium, but decreased serum and liver total cholesterol and altered the glucose tolerance of chicks by retarding clearance of ingested glucose from blood. Supplementation of the pectin-containing diet with penicillin (70 mg/kg), with selected essential elements and vitamins, or increasing the energy density of the diet had no ameliorating effect on the depressed growth. Pair-feeding showed that pectin depressed food intake, reduced carcase lipid content and increased carcase moisture content.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Blood Glucose; Body Composition; Body Weight; Chickens; Cholesterol; Depression, Chemical; Energy Metabolism; Food Additives; Liver; Pectins

In rats fed a semisynthetic diet, streptozotocin-induced diabetes [45 mg/kg, 17 days] led to hypertriglyceridaemia [6.4 mmol/l], to a marked increase in the proportion of plasma cholesterol present in the very low density lipoproteins [VLDL] [to 40 %] and to a decrease in the amount present in the high density lipoproteins [HDL] [to 34 %]. The addition of 0.25 % cholesterol to the above diet led in healthy rats to hypercholesterolaemia [4.3 mmol/l] and to similar changes in the distribution of cholesterol in the lipoproteins. In diabetic rats, the same diet led to pronounced hypertriglyceridaemia [13.8 mmol/l] and hypercholesterolaemia [18.9 mmol/l], while the proportion of HDL-borne plasma cholesterol fell still further to 6 % and rose in the VLDL to 70 %. The addition of pectin to the diet in 6 % concentration markedly inhibited triglyceridaemia [3.3 mmol/l] and cholesterolaemia [4.4 mmol/l] and raised the proportion of HDL plasma cholesterol to 47 %.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, Dietary; Cholesterol, HDL; Cholesterol, LDL; Cholesterol, VLDL; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental; Lipoproteins; Lipoproteins, HDL; Lipoproteins, LDL; Lipoproteins, VLDL; Male; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Triglycerides

The effects of some selected purified fibers were compared to those derived from cereals or legume seeds. Rats were fed for at least 9 weeks and measurements were taken to determine feed consumption, weight gain, feed efficiency ratios (FER), protein efficiency ratios (PER), apparent protein digestibility, and rate of transit through the gastrointestinal tract. Most diets were designed to contain approximately 10% dietary fiber and 10% protein. Compared to the fiber-free diet, pectin reduced weight gain, FER, PER and apparent protein digestibility values. Cellulose, xylan and raffinose had no influence on feed intake, weight gains or FERs. However, cellulose and xylan increased PER values and the rates of food passage but decreased the apparent protein digestibility values. Feed utilization, protein digestibility and growth were similar for the wheat bran, corn bran and fiber-free diets. These cereal fibers caused the rates of transit to be significantly increased relative to the fiber-free control diet. The hull and cell-wall-fiber fractions of beans, when compared to the fiber-free diet, had little effect on feed consumption, growth, FER or PER. The cell-wall-fiber fraction reduced apparent protein digestibility and the hull fraction accelerated food passage relative to the fiber-free diet.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cellulose; Diet; Dietary Fiber; Dietary Proteins; Digestion; Eating; Edible Grain; Fabaceae; Growth; Intestinal Mucosa; Pectins; Plants, Medicinal; Raffinose; Rats; Time Factors; Xylans

When fed to chicks rye is rachitogenic as well as growth depressing. The component or components of rye that cause these effects have not been identified. In an attempt to separate the factors, a water extract of rye was fractionated by precipitation with ethanol or ammonium sulfate. The precipitated fractions were fed to chicks. Although there were different responses to growth and bone ash from the ethanol fractions, they were not statistically significant. In another experiment, guar gum, pectin, or gum arabic was fed to chicks as 2% of the diet. Guar gum was both growth depressing and rachitogenic, pectin was only growth depressing, and gum arabic was without effect.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Chemical Fractionation; Chickens; Cholecalciferol; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Fiber; Edible Grain; Food Additives; Galactans; Gum Arabic; Mannans; Pectins; Plant Gums; Polysaccharides; Poultry Diseases; Rickets; Secale

The effect of dietary pectin levels on protein utilization was studied in weanling rats. Levels of 0, 4.8, 16.7 and 28.6% pectin were used in diets containing 10% protein from casein, bread or bread supplemented with lysine or lysine and threonine. Food intake, energy digestibility and protein digestibility were lowered by dietary pectin, resulting in very strong decreases in digestible energy and digestible protein intakes, protein being affected relatively more than energy. The weight gain of the experimental animals was also incrementally inhibited, with a net loss of weight occurring at the 28.6% pectin level. At this level of pectin addition, the mortality of the experimental groups averaged 50%, death occurring within the first 2 weeks of feeding the experimental diets. Dietary pectin worsened the animal's feed conversion and affected negatively the efficiency with which dietary protein was utilized for growth as measured by the net protein ratio, this effect being much more severe for the higher quality protein diets. It seems to have brought the animals' net protein utilization (NPUs) toward intermediate values, increasing the NPUs of the groups fed the bread-based diets and diminishing those of the other protein groups. The cause of these effects is not clear, although they may be due in part to a lower ratio of digestible protein to digestible energy with increasing dietary pectin. Other participating mechanisms may be the development of adverse intestinal microflora or binding of some essential amino acids to a greater extent than others.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Dietary Fiber; Dietary Proteins; Digestion; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Energy Metabolism; Male; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Weaning

The mutagenicity in extracts of fecal pellets and luminal contents obtained from specific sites along the gastrointestinal tract was examined in male Wistar rats fed a chemically-defined fiber-free diet or nutritionally and calorically equivalent diets containing different amounts of either cellulose or pectin (4.5 or 9.0%) or a mixture of cellulose and pectin (4.5% each). Mutagenicity was measured with the fluctuation test for weak mutagens using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA1535 as test organisms. Dietary fiber reduced the mutagenicity of fecal pellets from most of the animals. However, given the number of animals studied, the reduction was only significant for the 9.0% pectin diet (TA98), the 9.0% cellulose diet (TA1535) and the mixed fiber diet (TA1535). Analysis of the contents of stomach, distal small bowel, cecum and colon after a period of 8 weeks on a fiber-free diet revealed that the distal small bowel content had a mutagen concentration that was several times that at any other site. The mutagenicity of the small bowel content of animals on diets containing either 9.0% cellulose or 9.0% pectin was significantly lower than that of animals on a fiber-free diet, as assayed by either of the test strains of S. typhimurium. A similar reduction was detected in animals on the 4.5% cellulose or 4.5% pectin diet by test strain TA1535, but a diet containing a mixture of the same fiber polymers did not reduce the mutagenicity of the small bowel content. The mutagenicity of the contents of the stomach, cecum and colon was not significantly influenced by dietary fiber.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cellulose; Dietary Fiber; Digestive System; Feces; Male; Mutagens; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

Rats were fed either a basal purified diet, or that diet supplemented with 50 g/kg pectin or iota carrageenan for 50 days, and caecal microbial nitroreductase activity determined using p-nitrobenzoic acid, p-nitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, nitrofurantoin and metronidazole as substrates. Both pectin and carrageenan increased the weight of caecal contents, and pectin also increased the number of bacteria per caecum. In contrast, carrageenan decreased the caecal bacterial population. Pectin significantly increased the rate of reduction of metronidazole and the rate of conversion of p-nitrobenzoic acid to p-aminobenzoic acid, while carrageenan significantly decreased the rate of reduction of every compound studied. The results demonstrate that microbial reduction of the nitro-group may be altered by diet, although the response found with one nitro-compound may differ from that seen with another substrate.

Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Body Weight; Carrageenan; Cecum; Diet; Male; Nitro Compounds; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Time Factors

The effects of purified fiber components and wheat bran on several indices of protein utilization were determined in growing rats. A control diet containing 10% casein was diluted with either cellulose (C), pectin (P), lignin (L), guar gum (G), or wheat bran (W) at fiber levels ranging from 3% to 20%. All fibers except C caused a decrease in net protein ratio (NPR) as compared to the control casein diet. This depression in NPR increased as the dietary fiber level increased. Apparent and true nitrogen digestibilities also decreased with all fibers at all levels. At the highest level of fiber (20%) the depression was greater for G and W and was least for C. NPR when divided by digestibility (analogous to biological value) decreased with P,L, W (all levels) and G (20% level) but not with C. When rats were fed fiber without protein, there was increased excretion of endogenous fecal nitrogen with all fibers at all levels. The results demonstrate that fiber(s) affected protein utilization as measured by NPR, digestibility and endogenous fecal nitrogen excretion and that the negative effect increased with the level of fiber consumed.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Diet; Dietary Fiber; Digestion; Feces; Galactans; Lignin; Male; Mannans; Nitrogen; Pectins; Plant Gums; Proteins; Rats; Triticum

Newly weaned rats fed 12 weeks on a diet containing no dietary fiber or no fiber except for 10% cellulose, maintained the leaf-like intestinal villous morphology present at weaning, as observed by scanning electron microscopy. In rats on a normal laboratory diet the jejunal morphology showed progression from the leaf-like villous pattern at weaning to broad-leafed, long-ridged villi of adulthood. Pectin added to a no-fiber diet caused structural changes similar to but less well developed than those changes in the rats on a standard diet. Striking differences were noted not only in the appearance of the intestinal villi but in the number of villi per square centimeter between those animals on no fiber or no fiber except cellulose and those animals on pectin or standard diets. Cholestyramine, a strong pharmacological bile salt-binding agent, when added to a no-fiber diet, did not promote development of the usual villous pattern, and the structure remained the same as that in rats on no-fiber and cellulose diets. Cellulose (no bile salt-binding capability) and pectin (weak bile salt-binding capability) added to a no-fiber diet were associated with significant differences in the number of villi in both the jejunum and the ileum. The observed changes in morphology are unlikely to be due to differing bile salt-binding capabilities of different fiber substances.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cellulose; Cholestyramine Resin; Dietary Fiber; Ileum; Intestine, Small; Jejunum; Male; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

The effect of pectins' molecular weight (MW) and degree of esterification (DE) on apparent digestibility (D), net protein utilization (NPU) and biological value (BV) of casein were tested. The pectins prepared differed in MW and DE respectively as follows: P-1 (180,000, 73%); P-2 (300,000, 28%); P-3 (60,000, 74%) and P-4 (75,000, 40%) and were fed as 10% of a purified diet containing 10% casein to growing male rats for 10 days. All preparations decreased D, with P-2 and P-4 showing milder effects than P-1 or P-3. Increased NPU was observed with pectins of low NW and/or DE, being significant only with P-4. Diets containing P-2, P-3 or P-4 had higher BV for casein than the pectin-free diet. Feeding these pectins in a protein-free diet did not cause a significant change in the rats' body N content. Thus, the increase in the BV of casein was attributed to improvements in the pattern of amino acids absorbed by rats fed pectins with low MW and/or low DE.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Caseins; Citrus; Dietary Fiber; Digestion; Male; Molecular Weight; Nitrogen; Nutritive Value; Pectins; Rats; Structure-Activity Relationship

Axenic and holoxenic rats were fed with a semi-synthetic diet containing 5 p. 100 pectin as the only fiber. Although the microbial flora of the digestive tract converted most of the bile acids in holoxenic rats, it hardly changed the other characteristics of cholesterol and bile acid metabolisms, except intestinal bile salt pools which were much larger in the axenic rats. When the pectin-containing and pectin-free diets were compared, it appeared that the former diet increased cecal weight, especially in axenic rats, but slightly modified cholesterol and bile acid metabolisms. However, the values of some characteristics of those metabolisms varied individually in the holoxenic rat fed with the pectin-containing diet, while they were very homogeneous in the other groups. This heterogeneity might result from pectin-digestive tract microbial flora interactions which would vary among individuals.

Topics: Aging; Animals; Bile Acids and Salts; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Diet; Dietary Fiber; Feces; Germ-Free Life; Male; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats

The effect of 5% low-methoxylated pectin, high-methoxylated pectin, and guar gum on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine initiation of colon cancer was investigated using groups of 30 rats. The growth of the rats in the different groups was very similar to that of control group fed a fiber-free diet. Both kinds of pectin increased the multiplicity of color tumors, whereas guar gum did not significantly influence carcinogenesis. Bacterial beta-glucuronidase activity in feces and colonic content was the same in pectin-fed rats and controls but significantly lower in the guar gum group. Thus, it was not related to the number of tumors in each group.

Topics: Adenocarcinoma; Animals; Bacteria; Body Weight; Cellulose; Colonic Neoplasms; Dietary Fiber; Dimethylhydrazines; Feces; Glucuronidase; Male; Methylhydrazines; Pectins; Rats

The effects of cellulose, pectin and bran on the bioavailability of pyridoxine (PN) were examined using rat and chick bioassay methods. Dose-response curves for growth, feed consumption, feed efficiency and either lever pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) or erythrocyte aspartate aminotransferase (Asp-AT) activity and PLP stimulation in vitro were compared among animals fed experimental diets varying in dietary fiber source and suboptimal levels. of PN. In rats, the observed stimulation of growth and feed efficiency by pectin, as compared to cellulose, at suboptimal PN levels was attributed to increased synthesis of vitamin B-6 intestinal microflora. Diets containing pectin markedly increased the fecal vitamin B-6 content. No difference in liver PLP was detected among rats fed various diets. In chicks, 5% dietary pectin resulted in increased feed consumption, but also diarrhea and depressed growth. Asp-AT activities at the lower level of dietary PN showed a significant (P greater than 0.05) but modest stimulating effect of pectin on the apparent bioavailability of PN. Bran resulted in a 17% bioavailability decrease of PN as indicated by growth and feed consumption data in the chick. However, no difference in Asp-AT activity or in vitro PLP stimulation was detected in comparison of responses from bran-fed chicks with the standard responses. These results suggest that the polysaccharides tested did not have important deleterious effects on the bioavailability of pyridoxine.

Topics: Animals; Aspartate Aminotransferases; Biological Availability; Body Weight; Cellulose; Chickens; Dietary Fiber; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Eating; Liver; Male; Pectins; Pyridoxal Phosphate; Pyridoxine; Rats

1. Five groups of male Sprague Dawley rats were given for 6 months a diet with high protein and fat contents but a very low dietary fibre content (group B), and this diet mixed with (g/kg) 50 low-methoxyl pectin (group L), 50 high-methoxyl pectin (group H), 50 guar gum (group G) and 200 wheat bran (group WB, corresponding to 100 wheat fibre) respectively. 2. The weight increment was significantly lower in group G than in the other groups. Assuming no energy value of the dietary fibre, the weight increment (/kJ) was the same in groups B, L and H, lower in group G and higher in group WB, indicating that a proportion of the bran fibre might in fact be available as a source of energy. 3. Wheat bran increased total plasma cholesterol and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol after 6, 12 and 26 weeks. Group G had significantly lowered plasma cholesterol after 12 weeks. Pectin on the other hand did not significantly influence total or HDL-cholesterol levels. It is therefore possible that the plasma cholesterol lowering effect of pectin previously demonstrated in the rat is dependent on the presence of significant amounts of dietary cholesterol as our diets did not contain added cholesterol. Plasma triglycerides decreased with age but were similar in all groups.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, HDL; Dietary Fiber; Lipoproteins, HDL; Male; Pectins; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Triglycerides; Triticum

One laying hen and three chick experiments were conducted to study the effect of cereal grains, citrus pectin, and guar gum on liver fat of chicks and hens and on serum cholesterol of chicks. Feeding of wheat, rye, or 2% pectin in place of corn reduced liver fat content. The decrease in liver fat of hens fed wheat or rye was larger than that of those fed 2% pectin (P less than .05). The smallest amount of liver fat was found in livers of hens fed the rye diet. Wheat or pectin did not affect egg production of egg weight, but rye caused a significant decline in egg production in comparison with other treatments. Addition of 4% pectin or 2% guar gum to the corn control diet lowered liver fat, serum cholesterol (P less than .05), and body weight in chicks (P less than .05). Penicillin added to the diets containing 2% guar gum gave an increase in body weight (P less than .05) but had no effect on body weight of chicks fed diets containing 4% pectin. In contrast, pectinase prevented growth depression by pectin and guar gum. Pectinase also increased liver fat and serum cholesterol of birds fed the diet containing pectin or guar gum. When the corn control diet was pair-fed to the pectin diet, growth of the pair-fed chicks was better than that of the pectin-fed birds but was lower than that of birds fed the control diet ad libitium. Pectin-fed birds again had lower liver fat the serum cholesterol than the control birds. The reduced feed intake of chicks pair-fed the corn control diet had no effect on liver fat content.

Topics: Adipose Tissue; Animal Feed; Animals; Body Weight; Chickens; Edible Grain; Female; Galactans; Liver; Mannans; Pectins; Plant Gums

Graded levels of cellulose (0 to 20%) or of pectin (0 to 10%) were incorporated in purified diets with either 22 or 8.5% casein as the protein source. Weanling male rats were fed these diets for 4 weeks. Body weight gain, food consumption, feed efficiency, protein biological value, apparent digestion of food, fiber and protein, cecal weight and cecal volatile fatty acids (VFA) were recorded. Cellulose was largely and inert diet diluent causing increased weight gains when protein was limiting but not when protein was sufficient. The 25% disappearance in the gut was due, at least in part, to compaction in the ceca and in increased cecal VFA. Pectin caused progressively greater depressions in body weight gain, food intake and efficiency and protein digestion at both levels of dietary protein. At least part of the 75% disappearance of pectin during passage through the gut could be attributed to increased cecal VFA. However, a rat growth bioassay for energy showed that pectin as well as cellulose, agar and gum arabic contributed no measurable energy to young rats.

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Caseins; Cecum; Cellulose; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Proteins; Energy Metabolism; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Male; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Pectins; Proteins; Rats

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cellulose; Dietary Fiber; Feces; Intestinal Absorption; Methylmalonic Acid; Pectins; Rats; Vitamin B 12; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

Twenty-two healthy volunteers took approximately 20 g/day of concentrated dietary fiber from either carrot, cabbage, apple, bran, or guar gum or 31 g from pectin, added for 3-week periods to controlled diets. Total serum cholesterol fell by 13% on both guar and pectin (P less than 0.01) with no significant change in high density lipoprotein cholesterol. Over the 3-week supplementation period, the other fibers were without effect with the exception of carrot, where both control and test high density lipoprotein levels fell (P less than 0.05 and less than 0.01, respectively). If, however, the 3rd week of the control was compared with the 3rd test week, the values for total cholesterol were 7% lower after apple (P less than 0.02) while after carrot the high density lipoprotein cholesterol level was 10% lower than the control (P less than 0.01). No significant change was seen in serum triglyceride or body weight either as judged by differences over the 3-week periods or by comparing test and control values at 3 weeks. Comparison of stool weights obtained in this study indicate that the fecal bulking action of dietary fiber is independent of its hypocholesterolaemic effect.

Topics: Adult; Anticholesteremic Agents; Body Weight; Cellulose; Cholesterol; Dietary Fiber; Feces; Fruit; Humans; Male; Pectins; Polysaccharides; Triglycerides; Vegetables

Topics: Animals; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Diet; Free Radicals; Lipid Metabolism; Male; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats

Topics: Adipose Tissue; Animals; Body Weight; Dietary Carbohydrates; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids; Male; Muscles; Pectins; Phospholipids; Rats; Tissue Distribution; Triglycerides

The effect of pectin on lowering cholesterol and fat concentration in tissues of the rat was investigated in relation to the level of fat and the type of carbohydrate. Groups of rats were fed nutritionally complete diets containing equal protein: energy, varied with 5% (low-fat, 2% corn oil plus 3% beff tallow) or 20% (high-fat, 2% corn oil plus 18% beef tallow) fat and cornstarch or sucrose as carbohydrate for 2 weeks. Although there were no interactions, the feeding of pectin reduced the cholesterol level in liver and serum from dietary cholesterol to a greater degree in rats fed the low-fat than in those fed the high-fat diet. This effectiveness also varied with type of carbohydrate. In the low-fat diet, this effectiveness was higher with sucrose than with cornstarch, but in the high-fat diet, it was reversed. The size of perirenal fat pads and the concentrations of total liver lipid and cholesterol were less in rats fed the high-fat pectin diet than in those fed the high-fat diet without pectin, indicating that pectin also had an ability to lower fat absorption. When the level of serum alkaline phosphatase was lowered, pectin was more effective in lowering cholesterol level. This phenomenon, however, seemed due to the type of carbohydrate and fat rather than the cholesterol in the diet. Dietary cholesterol had no effect on the size of perirenal fat pads, but increased liver lipid content greatly in rats fed the high-fat diet. Dietary pectin increased the rate of removal of serum cholesterol, and a similar trend was shown in liver cholesterol which had accumulated from the pre-fed hyper-cholesterol diet.

Topics: Adipose Tissue; Animals; Anticholesteremic Agents; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, Dietary; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Fats; Food; Lipid Metabolism; Liver; Male; Pectins; Rats; Starch; Sucrose

Topics: Animal Feed; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Azo Compounds; Body Weight; Cellulose; Cryptococcus; Diet; Female; Liver; Male; Medicago sativa; Pectins; Poisoning; Rats; Seeds; Time Factors; Vegetables

Topics: Alginates; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Body Weight; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, Dietary; Citrus; Diet; Feces; Female; Lipid Metabolism; Male; Methyl Ethers; Methylation; Molecular Weight; Pectins; Rats; Sterols; Structure-Activity Relationship; Viscosity

Topics: Animals; Anticholesteremic Agents; Blood; Body Weight; Carotenoids; Cholesterol; Cholestyramine Resin; Depression, Chemical; Diet; Dietary Carbohydrates; Dietary Fats; Liver; Male; Organ Size; Pectins; Rats; Vitamin A

Topics: Acetates; Aminopyrine; Analgesics; Animals; Anticonvulsants; Blood Glucose; Blood Proteins; Body Weight; Carrageenan; Cholesterol; Citrates; Female; Male; Methylcellulose; Mice; Oxyphenbutazone; Pectins; Pentobarbital; Pentylenetetrazole; Pharmacology; Phenytoin; Starvation; Time Factors; Toxicology

Topics: Agar; Alginates; Animals; Body Weight; Carrageenan; Cholesterol; Dextrans; Diet; Pectins; Polysaccharides; Poultry; Psyllium; Resins, Plant

Topics: Animals; Anticholesteremic Agents; Body Weight; Cellulose; Cholesterol; Dietary Carbohydrates; Feces; Hypercholesterolemia; Lipids; Male; Pectins; Polysaccharides; Poultry; Proteins