Search

Background: The effects of supplementation with B vitamins and of common polymorphisms in genes involved in homocysteine metabolism on plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in trisomy 21 are unknown. Objectives: We aimed to determine the effects of orally administered folic acid and of folic acid combined with vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6, or both on tHcy in adults with trisomy 21. The study was also intended to analyze the possible influence of gene polymorphisms. Design: One hundred sixty adults with trisomy 21 and 160 healthy, unrelated subjects aged 26 [+ or -] 4 y were included. Plasma tHcy, red blood cell folate, serum folate, and vitamin B-12 were measured. Genotyping for the common methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C [right arrow] T, MTHFR 1298A [right arrow] C, cystathionine [beta]-synthase 844Ins68, methionine synthase 2756A [right arrow] C, methionine synthase reductase 66A [right arrow] G, and reduced folate carrier 80G [right arrow] A polymorphisms was carried out. Results: The mean tHcy concentration (9.8 [+ or -] 0.7 [micro]mol/L) of cases who did not use vitamins was not significantly different from that of controls (9.4 [+ or -] 0.3 [micro]mol/L). Plasma tHcy concentrations (7.6 [+ or -] 0.3 mmol/L) in cases who used folic acid were significantly lower than in cases who did not. Folic acid combined with vitamin B-12 did not significantly change tHcy concentrations compared with those in cases who used only folic acid. Folic acid combined with vitamins B-6 and B-12 significantly lowered tHcy (6.5 [+ or -] 0.5 [micro]mol/L). The difference in tHcy according to MTHFR genotype was not significant. However, tHcy concentrations were slightly higher in TT homozygotes among the controls but not among the cases. Conclusion: This study provides information on the relation between several polymorphisms in genes involved in homocysteine and folate metabolism in adults with trisomy 21. KEY WORDS Down syndrome, trisomy 21, folate, homocysteine, polymorphism, CBS, MTR, MTRR, MTHFR, RFC, vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6

Background: An elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentration seems to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Objective: We evaluated the determinants of tHcy in healthy French adults. Design: tHcy was measured by HPLC and fluorometric detection in 1.139 women and 931 men aged 35-60 y. Subjects were participants of the Supplementation with Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals Study, which investigates the effects of antioxidant supplementation on chronic diseases. Red blood cell folate (RBCF), plasma vitamins B-6 and B-12, and cardiovascular disease risk factors were also measured. The habitual diet was assessed in 616 subjects. Cross-sectional analyses were adjusted for age, smoking, energy intake, and concentration or intake of folate and vitamin B-6, where appropriate. Results: The mean ([+ or -] SD) tHcy concentration was 8.74 [+ or -] 2.71 [micro]mol/L in women and 10.82 [+ or -] 3.49 [micro]mol/L in men. In women, tHcy was positively related to age (P = 0.001), apolipoprotein B (P < 0.01), serum triacylglycerol (P < 0.01), fasting glucose (P = 0.02), and coffee and alcohol consumption (both P < 0.01) and inversely related to RBCF (P = 0.11) and plasma vitamin B-12 (P = 0.08) and vitamin B-6 (P = 0.01) intakes. In men, tHcy was positively associated with body mass index (P = 0.03), blood pressure (P < 0.02), serum triacylglycerol (P < 0.01), fasting glucose (P = 0.01), and energy intake (P < 0.01) and inversely associated with physical activity (P = 0.04), RCBF (P = 0.02), plasma vitamin B-12 (P = 0.09), and dietary fiber (P < 0.01), folate (P = 0.03), and vitamin B-6 (P = 0.09) intakes. Conclusion: To control tHcy, decreasing coffee and alcohol consumption may be important in women, whereas increasing physical activity, dietary fiber, and folate intake may be important in men. KEY WORDS Homocysteine, habitual diet, folate, cardiovascular disease risk, men, women, coffee, Supplementation with Antioxident Vitamins and Minerals Study, France

L’académie doit examiner l’étude par analogie et l’étude clinique réalisées en vue de l’obtention de l’agrément de « Rhumatologie » par l’établissement thermal de Saint-Jean d’Angély (eau minérale naturelle, chaude, sulfatée, calcique, sodique, magnésienne, ferrugineuse). Les eaux sulfatées sont utilisées en rhumatologie. 21 stations thermales françaises agréées en Rhumatologie utilisent des eaux minérales de ce type. Des études contrôlées et randomisées, parues dans la littérature internationale anglophone avec facteur d’impact, attestent d’un bénéfice clinique dans la lombalgie chronique, l’arthrose du genou, l’arthrose généralisée, les tendinopathies chroniques de l’épaule. L’étude clinique réalisée, conformément aux critères de 2020, est une étude interventionnelle, prospective ayant enrôlé 173 patients dans le cadre d’un essai contrôlé randomisé de supériorité. 86 patients ont mené à bien le traitement thermal, 87 constituaient le groupe témoin recevant les soins usuels. Les critères d’inclusion et d’exclusion étaient précisés. Les critères de jugement sont définis. L’étude satisfait aux critères de l’Académie. Tous les sujets étaient porteurs d’une gonarthrose symptomatique. La douleur était mesurée par l’échelle visuelle analogique 100 mm, la fonction par l’échelle de Womac, la qualité de vie par le EuroQoL5D, les médicaments analgésiques pris ont été relevés. L’évaluation au 6emois montrait une amélioration statistiquement significative dans le groupe thermal de la douleur, de l’incapacité, de la qualité de vie, de l’état clinique acceptable, de l’amélioration cliniquement pertinente, de la satisfaction des patients. Tous ces éléments étaient statistiquement supérieurs dans le groupe thermal par comparaison avec le groupe témoin.

L’arthrose est une pathologie dégénérative chronique responsable du handicap et du mal-être temporaire ou permanent avec une moins bonne qualité de vie. La SPA thérapie (traitement qui comporte un bain avec application de boue thermo-minérale), en particulier, peut contribuer à l’amélioration de cet état. Cependant, les études concernant l’impact de la SPA thérapie sur la qualité de vie psycho-sociale des sujets souffrant d’arthrose sont insuffisantes. L’objectif de la recherche a été d’approfondir les connaissances sur la tolérance, l’efficacité et l’impact de cette thérapie sur le stress psychologique dû à l’arthrose.

AbstractEthnobotany shares with ethnopharmacology the study of relations between man and medicinal plants, but is interested in a wider sense in any plant usage by man. These recent concepts go hand in hand with our growing preoccupation for nature protection and cultural heritage. Botany is an essential step in the ethnopharmacological process and botany itself is the reference system. It grants credibility to establish research that follows on from new concepts. Without the rigorous identification of studied plants, all future research that would be applied would become null and void. Likewise, this work aims firstly to justify the interests of a total botanical identification and the place of the herbarium. In the second part, the example of a plant studied at a phytochemical and pharmacological level in a laboratory will be made, selected on the basis of ethnobotanical investigations undertaken in Northern Madagascar: Perichlaena richardiiBaili. (Bignoniaceae)

In this study we show how a coarse-grained model of a phospholipid can be developed and we study the parameter sets applied to the formation of a coarse-grained dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline DMPC bilayer. We create a model comprising a head group of three hydrophilic beads, to which two hydrophobic tails are connected. From results obtained with molecular dynamics simulations on a single lipid in water, a bond-bending potential between three subsequent beads was added. Using a bead volume of 90 3, we reproduce the experimental values of the area per lipid and the hydrophobic thickness. There is no linear relation between the repulsion parameter aijand the level of coarse graining. The key factor in the formation of a lipid bilayer is the difference between the water–water and the water–hydrophobic tail repulsion parameters.

Numerous factors affect plasma cholesterol and, therefore, representpotential interferences with the specific effects of diet on lipid metabolism.After casein intake, serum cholesterol levels depend on many experimentalconditions in rats, such as the type of casein, the presence or absence ofcholesterol in the diet, the age and strain of rat, the diet composition, thenutritional status. The effect of fasting duration on selected parameters wasstudied in adult male Wistar rats fed a 20% casein and 1% cholesterol-based diet. No changes were observed in total serum, lipoproteins-B andHDL cholesterol and in triglyceride values after an 8 h-fast compared tonon-fasted animals. A significant decrease was induced in total andlipoproteins-B cholesterol with a 12 h-fast. A prolonged fast resulted ina significant decrease in these parameters and in triglycerides and inHDL-cholesterol levels.Fasted animals fed heated soybean meal instead of casein did not display amarked decrease in serum lipids. It appeared that the fasting effect wasmore marked in animals fed casein than in animals fed soybeans. Theseresults showed the importance of experimental conditions such as nutritional status ofanimals when blood samples are taken in studies of the hypocholesterolemiceffect of soy protein compared to casein.

Background:Although allergy to sunflower seed and oil is a relatively rare occurrence, several cases of sunflower seed allergy have been observed, and we have already described one case of anaphylaxis after eating sunflower oil and margarine. Objective:The aim of our study was to determine and characterize the allergens from sunflower oil at the different steps of the refining process: crude pressed oil (step A), acidification and neutralization (step B), pregumming by centrifugation (step C), washing (step D), bleaching (step E), gumming by filtration (step F), and deodorization (step G). Methods:A sample of oil from each step of the process (steps A to G) was heat extracted with PBS. The protein concentration of each extract was evaluated by using the micro-Bradford assay. Samples were run on SDS-PAGE. The immunoblot was performed with the serum of a patient sensitized to sunflower seed and oil. Results:The extracts obtained after each step reveal a decrease in total protein concentration from 13.6 μg/mL to 0.22 μg/mL. The result of SDS-PAGE shows 5 bands, from 67 kd to 145 kd, with the most abundant being the 67-kd protein. The amount of this protein decreases after each step of the process. It is, however, still present in trace amounts in the refined oil. The 67-kd protein, which is mainly present in the crude oil and slightly in the refined oil, has been shown to be allergenic. Conclusion:Because of the presence of allergenic proteins, refined sunflower oil may pose a threat to people highly sensitized to sunflower seeds. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000;106:962-7.)

5-Methyltetrahydrofolate is the predominant form of folate in plasma. It may be the preferred substrate for transport via the reduced-folate carrier (RFC). We isolated a cDNA for the reduced folate carrier (RFC-1) from human skin fibroblasts. A common polymorphism at position 80 in exon 2 of RFC-1 was identified. This polymorphism changes a guanine (G) to an adenine (A), abolishing a CfoI restriction site. Using genomic DNA samples from 169 healthy subjects, we identified 27.1% GG homozygotes, 21.9% AA homozygotes, and 50.9% GA heterozygotes. We explored the impact of this polymorphism, separately and in combination with the 677C->T polymorphism in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene, on folate status and total homocysteine levels. We found a moderate, but significant, increase in total homocysteine levels in doubly homozygous 80GG/677TT subjects as compared to 80GG/677CC (P= 0.01) or 80GG/677CT (P= 0.04) subjects. In addition, individuals who were 80AA/677CT had higher plasma folate levels than those who were 80GG/677CT (P= 0.02).

Oxidation of both chlorogenic acid (CG) and pelargonidin 3-glucoside (Pg 3-glc) as well as their mixture, in the presence of blueberry polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was studied in model solutions. The reactions were monitored by spectrophotometric, polarographic and HPLC methods. In the absence of CG, Pg 3-glc is not oxidised by blueberry PPO, but pigment degradation is induced by the presence of chlorogenic acid. Kinetic studies showed that Pg 3-glc was degraded by a mechanism involving a reaction between chlorogenoquinone and/or secondary products of oxidation formed from the quinone and the pigment. Therefore, no coupled oxidation mechanisms occurred with Pg 3-glc, as expected of its structure. The oxidation of CG by PPO in the presence of Pg 3-glc involved the consumption of 0.6 μmol of oxygen per μmol of CG oxidised, which is close to the stoichiometry calculated from the oxidation of CG alone (0.63 μmol of oxygen per μmol). The initial phase of the pigment degradation showed a delay which did not correspond to cresolase activity. This phase could be explained by a quinone/anthocyanin reaction which is dependent on the chlorogenoquinone concentration and/or a reaction involving secondary products of oxidation (formed from the chlorogenoquinone) and Pg 3-glc. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry

The androgen-binding protein (ABP) has been purified 87 500-fold from rat testis using 4 steps of HPLC, with a yield of 14%. The molecule was 99% pure with a specific activity estimated to 16 600 pmol/mg protein. The iodinated molecule was eluted in 2 peaks in Sephacryl S300 gel filtration with a molecular mass estimated to be 92 600 ± 3300 and 50 300 ± 4000 Da. The column isoelectrofocusing of 125I-ABP demonstrated 3 isoproteins isoelectric at pH 4.7, 4.9 and 5.3 and the sedimentation coefficient was estimated to be 4.7 S in sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. The 125I-ABP had similar physicochemical properties to the non-labelled ABP of epididymis.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an important mediator for the light/dark cycle entrainment of circadian rhythms including feeding rhythm. It is present in the main circadian oscillator, the suprachiasmatic nucleus which receives NPY efferences from the intergeniculate leaflet to form a pathway named the geniculo-hypothalamic tract (GHT). In the present experiment, we measured NPY in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and in areas more or less related to feeding rhythm regulation in rats with brain lesion induced by monosodium glutamate (MSG). Newborn Long-Evans rats were subcutaneously injected three times during the first week of life either with MSG (4 mg/g BW; n= 15) or with saline (n= 10). One week after weaning, food intake and NPY concentrations in the GHT, ventromedial (VMN) and dorsomedial nuclei and lateral hypothalamus were measured. Daily food intake in the MSG-treated rats was slightly lower than in control (saline) rats (10.8 ± 0.3 vs 11.9 ± 0.4 g; p< 0.03). This diminution in food intake was only observed during the dark period (p< 0.02). NPY in the ARC rats was 50% lower in MSG-treated rats than in control rats (p< 0.001) confirming therefore the neurotoxicity of the neonatal injections of high doses of MSG. A smaller decrease was observed in the VMN of MSG-treated rats (-30%; p< 0.02) whereas no variations were observed in the GHT and in the other areas. We conclude that when the GHT is intact, gross regulation of feeding rhythm is maintained. The VMN might contribute to the slight change in the dark/light distribution of food intake through the NPY variation.

The assimilation of labeled cobalamin and the transport of corrinoids in portal blood, peripheral venous blood, and bile were studied in eight cholecystectomized patients, after ingestion of a dose of cyano[57Co]cobalamin (0.5 μCi). The radioactivity appeared in the portal vein after a delay of 1.5–2 hours and in the peripheral vein 1 hour later. In bile, it reached a maximum at 24–72 hours; the excreted cobalamin corresponded to 1.42% ± 0.92% of the dose ingested. The output of total corrinoids was 1.85 nmol/day. The high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of bile showed the presence of methylcobalamin, 5′-deoxyadenosylcobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, and an unknown corrinoid. This corrinoid bound to R binder but not to the intrinsic factor, and it had the same retention time as cobinamide. The R binder was the single cobalaminbinding protein found in bile. It was completely saturated in some periods of bile secretion. The corrinoids corresponding to such a period were eluted in Sephacryl S 300 gel filtration (Pharmacia Fine Chemicals, Uppsala, Sweden) in two peaks corresponding to saturated R binder and to free cobalamin. The mean level of total corrinoid was significantly higher in the portal vein (593 ± 238 pmol/L) than in the peripheral vein (376 ± 114 pmol/L) (P< 0.01). This “cobalamin analogue” fraction was hypothetical because it was calculated from the difference between total corrinoid concentration and the so called “true cobalamin” concentration. This difference corresponded to the cobalamin analogue fraction. These data show that bile removes not only cobalamin but also cobalamin analogues and that R binder is the single carrier protein involved in their excretion.

Human intrinsic factor was purified 1430-fold from gastric juice with a yield of 75% using two steps: labile ligand affinity chromatography and high-performance ion-exchange chromatography. Intrinsic factor precipitated in the presence of specific autoantibodies and 15% sodium sulfate, had an estimated Mrof 59000 in 5% SDS electrophoresis and could bind to the specific ileal receptor in vitro. Its carbohydrate composition could be related to N-lactosaminic and O-glycosidic chains. High-performance ion-exchange chromatography was a mild, rapid and efficient procedure to separate completely intrinsic factor from haptocorrin (another glycoprotein of gastric juice which binds cobalamin) and from other contaminating proteins.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) preferentially stimulates carbohydrate intake rather than fat intake but there is no information on the effects of food choice on the concentration of NPY in the brain. We measured brain NPY concentrations in male adult rats that had to choose between a high fat and a high carbohydrate diet or were fed a control diet for 2 weeks. In rats with food choice, energy intake increased (+17). NPY levels increased in the parvocellular part (PVNp) of the PVN and decreased in the lateral hypothalamus and were significantly correlated with the carbohydrate-to-fat energy ratio but not with total energy intake. This suggests that hypothalamic NPY might be involved in food choice and that PVNp is important in the regulation of feeding behaviour by NPY.

Vitamin B12can bind two carrier proteins in the digestive tract, haptocorrin (R binder) and intrinsic factor, but only its binding to intrinsic factor allows its absorption. A malabsorption of vitamin B12is observed in about 30 of adult patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, using the Schilling test. None of the hypotheses that have tried to explain this malabsorption are entirely satisfactory. A failure to degrade haptocorrin can prevent the binding of vitamin B., to intrinsic factor. It has also been suggested that pancreatic secretion could modify the structure of intrinsic factor, enabling the uptake of the vitamin B12intrinsic factor complex by the ileum. Other factors can also affect the binding of vitamin B., to intrinsic factor, such as the gastric pH and bile. The Schilling test is abnormal in nearly all cases of cystic fibrosis. One explanation could be the gastric hyperacidity observed in this disease. Despite the frequency of abnormal Schilling tests, vitamin B., deficiency is very rare in cases of exocrine pancreatic dysfunction, in adults as well as in children with cystic fibrosis. The assimilation of this vitamin with a tracer included in food instead of the crystalline labeled cobalamin used in the Schilling test remains to be investigated.

The vitamin B12-binding proteins saturated or unsaturated with endogenous vitamin B12in human gastric and intestinal juice were characterized in terms of molecular size, reaction with specific anti-intrinsic factor and R-binder (also called non-IF, Cobalophilin, etc.) sera, and reaction with specific porcine intrinsic factor receptor. It is concluded that the intestinal juice contains only intrinsic factor whereas gastric juice contains in addition R-binders. It appears likely that the absence of R-binders in intestinal juice is due to degradation by pancreatic enzymes and this fully supports the suggestion that the vitamin B12 malabsorption in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is due to the presence of undegraded R-binders. The presence of free and biologically active intrinsic factor in intestinal juice suggests that entero–hepatic circulation may play an important role in vitamin B12homeostasis.Note added in proof.While this paper has been in revision, we have progressed with the identification of B12-binders in intestinal juice collected (see Materials and Methods) from a patient with proven EPI. Figure 2 illustrates the radiochromatogram through Sephadex G200 of (58Co) B12coupled to this intestinal juice. Contrary to the elution pattern observed when the intestinal juices from normal subjects were used, the protein bound 58Coradioactivity now delineated into two peaks corresponding by position to R-binder and IF (cf. Figs. 1B and 2). That R type B12-binding proteins were present in the EPI intestinal juice was subsequently confirmed by specific radioimmunoassay (17) where the incubation of the juice with an excess of blocking type antibody from a pernicious anemia serum reduced the UB12BC of the juice from 16.0 ng B12/ml to only 6.44 ng B12/ml. Thus more than 40% of the UB12BC in the EPI intestinal juice was due to a non-IF binding protein, i.e., to R-binder. This observation further supports the suggestion (8, 19) that the R-binders in the upper gastrointestinal system do remain undegraded in EPI.

The vitamin B 12 status of 20 subjects who were on home parenteral nutrition after surgical or functional small bowel resection and were given 1000 μg cyanocobalamin every 3 mo was studied by comparing their plasma vitamin B 12 , homocysteine (HS), and methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations. The plasma vitamin B 12 concentration (median 145 pmol/L, 95% confidence interval: 123−217) was subnormal in four cases and borderline in four others. In the "low B 12 " group, the concentrations of the markers of vitamin B 12 deficiency were in the normal range: HS 10.7 μmol/L (8.0-12.3); and MMA, 0.15 μmol/L (0.09-0.19). References values were HS, 10.0 μmol/L (9.4-12.6); and MMA, 0.16 μmol/L (0.10-0.19). Thus, there were no metabolic signs of vitamin B 12 deficiency in these subjects on parenteral nutrition, despite the fact that their plasma vitamin B 12 levels were low. Analysis of individual data showed that the four patients with low circulating B 12 had markers of intracellular vitamin B 12 deficiency in the normal range. Nutrition 1997; 13:313-318.

The concentrations of vitamin B12, its analogs, and the haptocorrin and transcobalamin carriers in 21 patients suffering from Crohn's disease and a group of controls (20 adults) were measured. There were no significant differences in the mean values for vitamin B12, total corrinoids (vitamin B12 + analogs), or vitamin B12 or total corrinoids bound to haptocorrin or transcobalamin of the Crohn's and control patients. There was a significant increase in the binding capacity of transcobalamin in the Crohn's patients compared to the controls (P<0.001), but there was no difference in the binding capacities of haptocorrin. The serum concentrations of the markers of vitamin B12 status, homocysteine and methylmalonic acid, showed an increase (P<0.01) in homocysteine in the Crohn's disease patients, but no change in methylmalonic acid. As the hyperhomocysteinemia was associated with normal folate concentrations, there may have been a defect in the activation of the enzyme due to altered intracellular vitamin B12 status.

The vitamin B12 status of 20 subjects who were on home parenteral nutrition after surgical or functional small bowelresection and were given 1000 μg cyanocobalamin every 3 mo was studied by comparing their plasma vitamin B12, homocysteine (HS), and methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations. The plasma vitamin B12 concentration (median 145 pmol/L, 95% confidence interval: 123–217) was subnormal in four cases and borderline in four others. In the “low B12” group, the concentrations of the markers of vitamin B12 deficiency were in the normal range: HS 10.7 μmol/L (8.0–12.3); and MMA, 0.15 μmol/L (0.09–0.19). References values were HS, 10.0 μmol/L (9.4–12.6); and MMA, 0.16 μmol/L (0.10–0.19). Thus, there were no metabolic signs of vitamin B12 deficiency in these subjects on parenteral nutrition, despite the fact that their plasma vitamin B12 levels were low. Analysis of individual data showed that the four patients with low circulating B12 had markers of intracellular vitamin B12 deficiency in the normal range.

The organoleptic properties of a diet are influenced by technological processes and have to be taken into account in food intake studies. The authors studied the food intake suppression associated with rancidity occurring during the storage of diets based on casein or heated or lyophilised lupin protein concentrates, and with or without ascorbic acid supplementation in five groups of 10 weanling Wistar rats for 21 or 26 days. After 15 days of storage, the unsaturated fatty acids were oxidised in heated lupin-protein-based diet without ascorbic acid. Compared to casein, food intake was decreased slightly during the first 10, 16 or 20 days for, respectively, heated lupin protein diet without ascorbic acid, heated lupin protein diet with ascorbic acid, and lyophilised lupin protein diet with or without ascorbic acid. After these periods, food intake decreased strongly. Body weight gain variations did not exactly follow food intake variations. The storage at 20°C could induce first an accumulation of free radicals, which were not detectable in measurement of fatty acids but perceived by rats, and then a fast oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids that increased rancid smell, modified nutritional quality and caused a dramatic decrease of rat food intake. Supplementing ascorbic acid into the diet could diminish the formation of free radicals at the beginning of storage, and consequently could delay food intake decrease. © 1997 SCI.

The published scientific data concerning the effects of germination on chemical composition, biochemical constituents and anti-nutritional factors of soya bean are reviewed. The amino acid profile did not change to a great extent; only a noticeable increase in aspartic acid was observed whereas there was a gradual decrease in the available lysine level and lipid content as germination progressed. Both the total protein content and the nonprotein nitrogen increased after 5 days of germination. Dietary fibres are partially degraded in germinated seeds. Germinated soya bean is an excellent source of ascorbic acid and riboflavin. Niacin contents increased distinctly after germination. Germination induced a reduction in lipase inhibitor activity. The galactosyl oligosaccharides drastically decreased in germinated seeds. After 4 days of germination, the activity of certain lectins decreased to 4% of that of ungerminated soya beans. The phytic acid in the seeds was degraded by the phytase activated during germination, thus increasing the availability of the minerals present in the germinated seeds. Germination can degrade both Kunitz soya bean trypsin inhibitor and the major Bowman–Birk soya bean trypsin inhibitor; the degradation is enhanced, if germination process lasts more than 4 days. © 1997 SCI.

The effect of lupin seed protein on rat cholesterol metabolism has been studied with diets high in fat (20% by weight) and containing cholesterol (1%). The proteins used were characterised by their lysine/arginine ratios (sweet white lupin (SWL) 0·5; sweet yellow lupin (SYL) 0·4; and casein 1·8), because the lysine/arginine ratio is one of the parameters suspected to decrease or increase plasma cholesterol depending on the ratio; the diets were also characterised by their total fibre content (casein diet 5%; SWL 22%; SYL 17%) because chronic fibre intake could improve glucose tolerance and modify glucoregulatory hormone levels. Methionine content of diets was balanced. Differences among the total serum cholesterol levels of rat groups fed these diets for 28 days were not significant. But, compared to the casein diet, both lupin diets increased plasma glucagon levels and faeces. Compared to casein and SYL diets, the SWL diet significantly decreased plasma triglyceride levels and the insulin/glucagon ratio, as well as unesterified liver cholesterol and plasma LDL triglycerides levels. The SYL diet significantly increased plasma glucose and insulin, as well as liver total cholesterol compared to the casein and SWL diets. The total fibre content of the diets could indirectly modulate the effect related to the insulin/glucagon ratio on cholesterol metabolism and explain the differences observed between the SWL and SYL diets. © 1998 SCI.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) mediates feeding behavior through a local hypothalamic network formed by the arcuate and paraventricular nuclei (the AP axis). In the hypothalamus, NPY is mainly synthesized in neurons of the arcuate nucleus. These neurons project to the paraventricular nucleus, the site where NPY has the strongest stimulatory effects on food intake of Sprague-Dawley rats. In the adult Zucker fatty rat (a genetic model of obesity with a well-established hyperphagia), NPY concentrations in these nuclei are higher than in its lean counterpart. We measured hypothalamic NPY before the appearance of altered eating behavior, e.g., in very young (16-d-old) lean and obese Zucker pups, and in pups at an age when overeating had begun, e.g., a few days after weaning at 30 d. At 30 d, NPY concentrations were significantly higher in obese than in lean rats in the arcuate nucleus (14.2 ± 0.7 vs. 11.6 ± 0.5 pmol/mg protein, P< 0.01.). This difference was not observed at 16 d. A 160% increase was noted in the paraventricular nuclei of obese rats between 16 and 30 d of life compared with a 100% increase in the lean rats (P< 0.001). Neuropeptide Y concentration was greater in 30-d-old rats than in 16-d-old rats in other areas involved in the regulation of feeding behavior, such as the dorsomedian nuclei and lateral hypothalamus, but the values did not differ between genotypes. Higher NPY concentration was therefore detected early in young obese rats in the main hypothalamic site of NPY synthesis. Because the change in NPY concentration in the paraventricular nucleus was greater in obese rats than in lean rats between 16 and 30 d, the AP axis seemed overactivated in young obese rats. These changes coincided with changes in eating behavior. Because a comparable phenomenon has already been described in another NPY network including the suprachiasmatic nuclei, the internal clock regulating feeding rhythms, we conclude that NPY plays a major role in the development of overeating in the Zucker fatty rat.

Hyperphagia and obesity are often associated, and the origins of the biochemical modifications leading to these syndromes might be in the hypothalamus. Indeed, food intake is regulated by numerous neuropeptides in various hypothalamic nuclei, including the paraventricular (PVN), arcuate (ARC), ventromedian (VMN) and suprachiasmatic (SCH) nuclei. Among these peptides, neuropeptide Y (NPY) is the most potent inducer of food intake whereas neurotensin (NT) decreases food intake. We measured these two peptides in microdissected hypothalamic nuclei in obese Zucker rats that ate 30% more food than their lean counterparts. Neuropeptide Y and neurotensin levels varied in opposite directions: In the hyperphagic obese Zucker rats, the NPY concentrations were significantly greater than those in the lean normophagic rats in the ARC (+30%), PVN (+60%) and SCH (+94%) nuclei, whereas the NT levels were significantly lower in the ARC (-40%), PVN (-31%), VMN (-66%) and SCH (-47%) nuclei. Both these variations tend to increase food intake. Feeding periodicity might also be modified because large variations of the two peptides have been measured in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is considered the most important regulator of feeding rhythm. The results reinforce the hypothesis that hyperphagia in obesity is associated with a biochemical modification in the central nervous system because the peripheral status of NT and NPY was not modified in the obese rats. Because levels of other hypothalamic peptides, such as opioid peptides and somatostatin, are also slightly modified, it can be concluded that hyperphagia in obesity is associated with a central peptidergic dysregulation. Research on drugs reacting specifically with the receptor of these peptides might have interesting implications for the treatment of hyperphagia and, therefore, of obesity.

We have tested five Lactobacillus strains for their in vitro colonization ability in a human colon epithelium culture model. Positive colonization occurred in different degrees in the presence of four Lactobacillus strains. We have found that L. casei GG and L. acidophilus NCFB 1748 induce an intermediate colonization. These two strains, largely investigated by others, have been reported to be beneficial to humans. The use of human intestinal tissue in our study partially reconstitutes the complex architectural specificity of human epithelium with the mucus layer and more closely simulates the in vivo situation.