Freeze-dried jaboticaba peel powder rich in anthocyanins did not reduce weight gain and lipid content in mice and rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Jaboticaba, a native fruit from Brazilian Atlantic Forest, is an important source of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins have been recently identified as modulators of lipid metabolism and energy expenditure 'in vivo'. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the freeze-dried jaboticaba peel powder on obesity treatment in different experimental models. Obese Swiss mice and obese Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fat diet supplemented with 1, 2 and 4% freeze-dried jaboticaba peel powder for 6 weeks. Energy intake, weight gain and body composition were determined, and the results were analyzed using variance and Tukey's tests (p<0.05). The energy intake was higher in mice groups supplemented with 2% and 4% of jaboticaba peel. In relation to weight gain, the mice supplemented with 2% of jaboticaba peel had higher total weight gain than the other experimental groups, while no significant difference in the fat mass accumulation was observed among the groups. The rats did not show significant differences in the evaluated parameters. These results suggest that the supplementation with freeze-dried jaboticaba peel powder, at concentrations of 1, 2 and 4%, was not effective in the reduction of energy intake, weight gain and body fat both in mice and in rats.6213743Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Conjugated linoleic acid and phytosterols counteract obesity induced by high-fat diet

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)This study aims to evaluate the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CIA) and phytosterol supplementation and their combination added to high fat diet to verify their action on the satiety hormones, food intake, weight loss and peripheral glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in healthy rats. Twenty-one-day-old male healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n = 5): Standard group (P), Standard High-Fat group (HF), and three high-fat groups fed diets with 2% CIA added (HC), 2% phytosterol (HP) and 2% CIA plus 2% phytosterol (HS). The standard diet was AIN-93G with 12% protein and 4% vegetable oil; the high-fat diet contained 12% protein and 35% fat (4% vegetable oil and 31% animal fat). The experimental period lasted 8 weeks. The groups receiving supplements showed a significant reduction of retroperitoneal and epididymal adipose tissue as compared to the HF group (p<0.05). However, there was no improvement in insulin resistance and glucose in either supplemented group (p<0.05). The leptin decreased only in the groups that were receiving CIA (p<0.05). All supplemented groups showed a reduction in diet consumption, but the groups that received the supplements showed weight reduction compared to the HF group (p<0.05). The animals that received the supplements alone or in combination showed reduced fat mass and the effect was potentiated in the group HS, but there was no improvement in ghrelin, adiponectin insulin and glucose resistance. The supplements alone or in combination promoted reduction of food intake and also promoted weight loss in experimental animals. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.511429435Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Antioxidant effects of the combination of conjugated linoleic acid and phytosterol supplementation in Sprague-Dawley rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and phytosterol supplementation and their combination on antioxidant enzyme activities and biomarkers of lipid peroxidation in healthy rats. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups and received diets supplemented with 2% of soybean oil (group 5), safflower oil (group LA) (control), a mixture of c9,t11 and t10,c12 CLA (group CLA). phytosterols (group P) and a mixture of CLA and phytosterols (group CLA + P) for 9 weeks. Plasma and hepatic indicators of lipid autoxidation and plasma antioxidant enzymes activities were determined. The supplementation with the mixture of CLA and phytosterols (CLA+P) did not alter food intake, weight gain, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) values, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GRd) activities (P > 0.05). The supplementation with CLA significantly increased plasma catalase (CAT) activity (3.7-fold) and plasma 8-isoprostane values (60%) compared to S group (P<0.05). However, the assoCLAtion between CLA and phytosterols was able to restore the CAT and 8-isoprostane levels to basal values, since these indicators in the CLA + P group were statistically similar to S group. CLA +P supplementation also decreased lipid peroxidation primary (58%) and secondary (52%) products in liver (P<0.05). Supplementation of isolated phytosterols and CLA was also able to reduce hepatic lipid peroxidation products and plasma levels of MDA (P<0.05). The dietary combination of CLA + P improved the antioxidant status, reduced the lipid peroxidation and protected against possible effects of CLA supplementation on oxidative stress in vivo. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.491487493Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Freeze-dried jaboticaba peel powder improves insulin sensitivity in high-fat-fed mice

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)The peel of the native Brazilian fruit jaboticaba is rich in anthocyanins, which are known for their anti-obesity effects in animal models. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of freeze-dried jaboticaba peel powder (FDJPP) on a number of metabolic parameters in a model of diet-induced obesity. Mice (n 8 per group) were initially fed on a high-fat diet (HFD, 35% w/w) for 4 weeks and then switched to a HFD supplemented with FDJPP (1, 2 or 4% w/w) for an additional 6 weeks. Energy intake, weight loss, glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and lipid profile were determined, and the results were evaluated using ANOVA and Tukey's tests. The FDJPP exerted no protective effect on HFD-induced weight gain, hyperleptinaemia and glucose intolerance. However, the supplementation was effective to reduce insulin resistance, as evidenced in the insulin tolerance test, and subsequently confirmed by improved signal transduction through the insulin receptor/insulin receptor substrate-1/Akt/forkhead box protein pathway and by the attenuation of HFD-induced inflammation in the liver, verified by lower expressions of IL-1 beta and IL-6 and decreased phosphorylated I kappa B-alpha protein levels in all jaboticaba-treated mice. These results suggest that FDJPP may exert a protective role against obesity-associated insulin resistance.o TEXTO COMPLETO DESTE ARTIGO, ESTARÁ DISPONÍVEL À PARTIR DE AGOSTO DE 2015.1103447455Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

"Towards Smart Creative Tourism"

Creative tourism has recently emerged as an evolved, interactive and integrated form of cultural tourism. Active participation of tourists in creative and learning experiences characterises the shift from traditional cultural tourism to creative tourism. Tourists are no longer mere consumers and spectators of tangible and intangible cultural attractions, but active co-producers and co-creators of their experiences. Tourist destinations have increasingly developed creative tourism strategies to enhance competitiveness and for urban regeneration. The growth of creative tourism can be associated with the diffusion and use of advanced Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). While such dynamics have been largely addressed in literature, there is still little understanding of the impact of smart technology (e.g. internet of things) on cultural and creative tourism industries. Academic works, in particular, tend to focus on isolated smart technology applications for creative attractions and cultural heritage. In the light of recent smart tourism developments, this paper explores the current trends in creative tourism to find elements of convergence with smart tourism. In doing so, the paper focuses on the role of technology, the business context and the social dimension as key components of the emerging smart creative tourism phenomenon. The need for an all-encompassing approach to smart creative tourism development is finally suggested by proposing some potential lines of further research