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Obesity is characterized by excessive fat accumulation, chronic inflammation, and enhanced oxidative stress that can present a substantial risk for metabolic complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of red ginseng (RG), and its bio-transformed form (fermented RG, FRG) by microorganism on obese phenotype, lipid profile, and inflammation and oxidant profiles in rats fed a high-fat (HF) diet. FRG was prepared by fermentation of RG with Lactobacillus pentosus KCCM 12762P. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 8/group; 6 weeks old) were counterbalanced by initial weight into four groups and fed either a low-fat (LF; 10% kcal as fat), high-fat (HF; 45% kcal as fat), or HF diet supplemented with RG or FRG at 1% (w/w) in diet for 6 weeks. General phenotypes (body weight, energy intake, visceral adiposity), lipid and inflammatory profiles, and oxidative states were assessed. RG and FRG supplementation suppressed HF-induced upregulation of proinflammatory cytokine genes, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha, in both white adipose and liver tissues. Similarly, RG and FRG partially reversed HF-induced downregulation of antioxidant enzymes at the gene level. Concomitantly, RG and FRG reduced body weight gain, energy intake, visceral adiposity and the level of serum triglycerides. It is of note that better metabolic profile was observed with FRG than RG for lipid metabolism and inflammation, in the liver in particular. Taken together, we demonstrated that RG and FRG supplementation effectively protected from HF-induced metabolic disturbances by improving obese phenotypes, lipid and inflammatory profiles, and antioxidant defense system.

This study was conducted to investigate the anti-obesity effect of peptides derived from defatted mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larvae) and to determine the expression level of obesity-related membrane-associated proteins in the rat muscle. The production of functional peptide was produced by hydrolysis of mealworm protein using commercial enzymes. To evaluate anti-obesity effects through animal feeding experiments, a total of thirty-two rats were randomly divided into control diet (CD), 5% mealworm peptide supplemented control diet (CT), high-fat diet (HD), and 5% mealworm peptide supplemented high-fat diet group (HT). The weight loss of HT was confirmed by mealworm peptides feeding. The weights of fat tissues (perirenal and epididymal) of HT were significantly decreased, however, soleus muscle weight of HT was significantly increased compared to those of the HD, respectively. The expression levels of obesity-related membrane-associated proteins (FABPpm, PGC-1α, and PPAR) in HT group involved in fatty acid transport and utilization were significantly higher than that of the HD. From these results, mealworm peptide supplement showed an anti-obesity effect by stimulation of FABPpm, PGC-1α, and PPAR-δ in skeletal muscle and then showed an increase in muscle weight along with body weight loss in HT group.

Euglena gracilis (EUG) is a food supplement rich in beta-glucans, which are stored in the form of granules called paramylon. We determined whether EUG improved chemotherapy-induced leukocytopenia and dysbiosis. Mice were orally administered EUG prior to gemcitabine treatment. Analyses of the blood cell count, leukocyte population in the spleen, granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) production by splenocytes, and fecal microbiome were conducted. The recovery of total leukocytes, neutrophils, and monocytes was accelerated after a single gemcitabine treatment. A more rapid lymphocyte recovery rate was observed after four gemcitabine treatments. No difference was observed in the percentage of T, B, or myeloid cells or in the expression of Dectin-1 in the spleens of the gemcitabine and EUG/gemcitabine groups. The EUG/gemcitabine group showed an enhanced GM-CSF production by lipopolysaccharides-stimulated splenocytes. Next-generation sequencing revealed that gemcitabine-induced dysbiosis was alleviated. This study demonstrated that EUG-derived beta-glucans could act as a biological response modifier as well as prebiotics for ameliorating chemotherapy-induced adverse effects.

Resistant starch (RS) is metabolized by gut microbiota and involved in the production of short-chain fatty acids, which are related to a variety of physiological and health effects. Therefore, the availability of RS as a prebiotic is a topic of interest, and research on gut bacteria that can decompose RS is also important. The objectives in this study were 1) to isolate a human gut bacterium having strong degradation activity on non-gelatinized RS, 2) to characterize its RS-degrading characteristics, and 3) to investigate its probiotic effects, including a growth stimulation effect on other gut bacteria and an immunomodulatory effect. Bifidobacterium adolescentis P2P3 showing very strong RS granule utilization activity was isolated. It can attach to RS granules and form them into clusters. It also utilizes high-amylose corn starch granules up to 63.3%, and efficiently decomposes other various types of commercial RS without gelatinization. In a coculture experiment, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron ATCC 29148, isolated from human feces, was able to grow using carbon sources generated from RS granules by B. adolescentis P2P3. In addition, B. adolescentis P2P3 demonstrated the ability to stimulate secretion of Th1 type cytokines from mouse macrophages in vitro that was not shown in other B. adolescentis. These results suggested that B. adolescentis P2P3 is a useful probiotic candidate, having immunomodulatory activity as well as the ability to feed other gut bacteria using RS as a prebiotic.

Supporting multi-language linking such as linking C and handwritten assembly modules in the verified compiler CompCert requires a more compositional verification technique than that used in CompCert just supporting separate compilation. The two extensions, CompCertX and Compositional CompCert, supporting multi-language linking take different approaches. The former simplifies the problem by imposing restrictions that the source modules should have no mutual dependence and be verified against certain well-behaved specifications. On the other hand, the latter develops a new verification technique that directly solves the problem but at the expense of significantly increasing the verification cost. In this paper, we develop a novel lightweight verification technique, called RUSC (Refinement Under Self-related Contexts), and demonstrate how RUSC can solve the problem without any restrictions but still with low verification overhead. For this, we develop CompCertM, a full extension of the latest version of CompCert supporting multi-language linking. Moreover, we demonstrate the power of RUSC as a program verification technique by modularly verifying interesting programs consisting of C and handwritten assembly against their mathematical specifications.

Gemcitabine (2′-deoxy-2′,2′-difluorocytidine, dFdC) is one of the most effective chemotherapy drugs commonly used for treatment of various tumors. Despite its significant anticancer effects, some adverse effects create obstacles to treatment. The main toxicity of gemcitabine is myelosuppression, which not only reduces patient quality of life, but also hinders further anticancer treatment. In this respect, immunotherapy can address these drawbacks because of its ability to enhance the patient's immune system. To improve immune system function, yeast-derived β-glucans, which are well-known biologic response modifiers, were administered to gemcitabine-treated mice. The in vivo experiment revealed that orally administered yeast (1 → 3)-(1 → 6)-β- d -glucan effectively alleviated myelosuppression associated with gemcitabine-induced pancytopenia. Moreover, analysis of myelopoiesis-related cytokine expression through real-time PCR demonstrated that β-glucan treatment significantly upregulated hematopoietic responses in gemcitabine-treated mice. Furthermore, orally administered β-glucan significantly induced the expression of IFN-γ and IL-2 in splenocytes of gemcitabine-treated mice. It also restored the cytotoxicity of splenocytes against YAC-1 in gemcitabine-treated mice and displayed a positive effect on gemcitabine-damaged bone marrow tissue. In conclusion, yeast β-glucans have the potential to be used as adjuvants for alleviating chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression in patients.

We investigated the effect of acetic acid fermented onion vinegar supplementation and acute swimming exercise on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activity of rats fed a high-fat diet. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats, 6 weeks of age, were randomly divided four groups; high fat diet sedentary group (HS, n=8), high fat diet acute exercise group (HE, n=8), acetic acid fermented onion supplemented sedentary group (AS, n=8), and acetic acid fermented onion supplemented acute exercise group (AE, n=8). The rats in the HS and HE were given a high fat diet and those in the AS and AE were given a 6% acetic fermented onion added to the high fat diet for 4 weeks. In the results, serum TG and TC levels of AE was significantly increased than that of the AS, respectively (p

We investigated the inhibitory effect of active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) on muscle atrophy in hindlimb-suspended rats. Twenty-four six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: the control sedentary group (CS, n = 8), the hindlimb-suspended group (HS, n = 8), and the hindlimb-suspended and AHCC-supplemented group (HSA, n = 8). Hindlimb suspension and AHCC supplementation were performed for two weeks. The HSA group was treated with AHCC (1 g/1 kg of body weight (BW)) orally in 0.3 mL of PBS solution, while the HS group received the vehicle (PBS solution) only. After two weeks, the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the HS and HSA groups decreased by approximately 36% (p < 0.05) and 19%, respectively, compared to the CS group. In addition, myonuclear numbers of the HS and HSA groups and the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle weight of the HS group decreased 30% (p < 0.05) and 18%, respectively, compared to the CS group. AHCC supplementation increased the phosphorylation of pAkt/Akt in the HSA group compared to the HS group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, Fbx32 and MuRF1 protein expression in the HSA group recovered to the level of the CS group. Based on these results, AHCC supplementation may have a positive role in the prevention of muscle atrophy via Akt activation in hindlimb-suspended rats.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of lactic acid fermented Onion supplementation and acute swimming exercise on lipid peroxidation levels and SOD protein activity of rats fed a high-fat diet. Thirty-two SD male rats, 6 weeks of age, were randomly divided into 4 groups: high fat diet sedentary group(HS, n=8), high fat diet exercised group(HE, n=8), lactic acid fermented Onion supplemented sedentary group(OS, n=8), lactic acid fermented Onion supplemented exercised group(OE, n=8). They were given a high fat diet (HS and HE) or supplemented 3% of lactic acid fermented Onion(OS and OE) for 4 weeks. The animals in the swim groups swam for 60 min/days, 5 days/wk for 4 weeks in a plastic tube filled with water(temp: 35±1℃, depth 50cm, radius: 25cm). In the results, serum TG level of OE group was significantly lower than that of the HE and OS group(p

Compound K (CK; 20-O-β-(d-glucopyranosyl)-20(S)-protopanaxadiol) is one of the metabolites of ginsenosides contained in red ginseng (RG) and is known to have high bioavailability. This study aimed to establish the optimal conditions for enzyme treatment to convert ginsenosides from RG extract to CK, and to prove the characteristics of bioconverted red ginseng (BRG) extract. CK was not detected in unenzyme-treated RG extract, and in the single-step enzyme treatment, it was produced at less than 4.58 mg/g only in treatment group with Pyr-flo or Sumizyme AC (at 50 °C for 48 h). The highest yield of CK (14.32 mg/g) was obtained by Ultimase MFC treatment at 50 °C for 48 h after treatment with a mixture of Pyr-flo and Rapidase at 50 °C for 24 h. Total polyphenol, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity were higher in BRG than in RG (p p

Because cinnamon is orally ingested, its biological activity is likely to influence the small intestinal epithelium and the microbiota along the intestinal tract. We investigated small intestinal epithelial gene expression associated with immunity and lipid metabolism and measured IgA level in the small intestines and sera of mice fed cinnamon. We also analyzed microbial changes in the small and large intestines and feces using pyrosequencing of the 16 s rRNA gene. Cinnamon increased the gene expression of Muc2, RegIIIγ, and Pigr, which are necessary for defense against gut bacteria. It also increased the gene expression of GATA4 and Slc27a2, which are implicated in lipid absorption. Cinnamon increased luminal IgA level but not serum IgA and decreased the class Gammaproteobacteria (classified within the phylum Proteobacteria), particularly the genus Pseudomonas, in the large intestine. Cinnamon thus affected immunity and lipid absorption in the small intestinal epithelium and microbial composition in the intestines.

Production compilers such as GCC and LLVM are large complex software systems, for which achieving a high level of reliability is hard. Although testing is an effective method for finding bugs, it alone cannot guarantee a high level of reliability. To provide a higher level of reliability, many approaches that examine compilers' internal logics have been proposed. However, none of them have been successfully applied to major optimizations of production compilers. This paper presents Crellvm: a verified credible compilation framework for LLVM, which can be used as a systematic way of providing a high level of reliability for major optimizations in LLVM. Specifically, we augment an LLVM optimizer to generate translation results together with their correctness proofs, which can then be checked by a proof checker formally verified in Coq. As case studies, we applied our approach to two major optimizations of LLVM: register promotion mem2reg and global value numbering gvn, having found four new miscompilation bugs (two in each).

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplementation and endurance exercise on the oxidative/anti-oxidative status in rat liver and skeletal muscles. Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into HS (high-fat diet sedentary group, n = 8), CS group (CLA supplemented sedentary group, n = 8), and CE group (CLA supplemented exercise group, n = 8). For CLA supplementation, 1.0% CLA was substituted for dietary fat. For endurance exercise, the rats swam for 60 min a day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. The MDA content, Cu, Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD expression in the soleus muscle (SOM) of the CE group improved significantly compared to the HS (p < 0.01) and CS groups (p < 0.05). Moreover, Mn-SOD expression in both the SOM and extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDL) of the CS were enhanced significantly compared to the HS (p < 0.05). From these results, it was suggested that CLA supplementation under the endurance exercise condition may improve the oxidative status by decreasing the MDA content via potential scavenging of Cu,Zn-SOD, and Mn-SOD protein in red muscle, respectively. Therefore, our study demonstrated long-term endurance exercise with CLA supplementation plays a crucial role for maintenance of antioxidative properties in the skeletal muscle of rat.

The circadian rhythm is a 24-h cycle in which cells control metabolic and physiological processes throughout the day. In this study, we compared the expression patterns of major circadian rhythm-related genes: from blood of Bmal1, Ror-α, Cry1, Per2, Per1, and Nr1d1. In addition, changes in patterns of melatonin levels were observed in 16 subjects, eight males rugby players and eight males who did not exercise regularly. Blood was collected at 6:00, 10:00, 18:00, and 22:00. Bmal1, Ror-α, Cry1, Per2 (p

Herein, we demonstrate that butein (1) can prevent swelling in a murine lymphedema model by suppressing tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) production. Butein derivatives were synthesized and evaluated to identify compounds with in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. Among them, 20 μM of compounds 7j, 7m, and 14a showed 50% suppression of TNF-α production in mouse peritoneal macrophages after lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Compound 14a, exhibited the strongest potency with an in vitro IC50 of 14.6 μM and suppressed limb volume by 70% in a murine lymphedema model. The prodrug strategy enabled a six-fold increase in kinetic solubility of compound 1 and five-fold higher levels of active metabolite in the blood for compound 14a via oral administration in the pharmacokinetics study. We suggest that the compound 14a could be developed as a potential therapeutic agent targeting anti-inflammatory activity to alleviate lymphedema progression.

Wheat germ is rich in quinones that exist as glycosides. In this study, we used Celluclast 1.5L to release the hydroxyquinones, which turn into benzoquinone, and prepared the water extract from enzyme-treated wheat germ (EWG). We investigated whether enzyme treatment altered the anti-inflammatory activity compared to the water extract of untreated wheat germ (UWG). UWG inhibited the production of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and interleukin (IL)-12 and induced the production of IL-10 and heme oxygenase (HO)-1 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages. Enzyme treatment resulted in greater inhibition of iNOS and IL-10 and induction of HO-1 compared to UWG, possibly involving the modulation of nuclear factor (NF)-&kappa, B, activator protein 1 (AP-1) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2). Mice fed UWG or EWG had decreased serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-&alpha, and increased serum IL-10 levels after intraperitoneal injection of LPS, with UWG being more effective for IL-10 and EWG more effective for TNF-&alpha, Hepatic HO-1 gene was only expressed in mice fed EWG. We provide evidence that enzyme treatment is a useful biotechnology tool for extracting active compounds from wheat germ.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) derived protein supplementation on skeletal muscle atrophy of hindlimb casted immobilized rats. Twenty-four six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: control sedentary group (CD, n = 8), control diet casting group (CDC, n = 8), and the mealworm-derived protein supplemented casting group (MDC, n = 8). CD and CDC group was supplemented AIN-76G diet and mealworm-derived protein supplemented diet for MDC group was substituted as 5% casein protein to 5% mealworm protein for 5 weeks and left hindlimb casting immobilization using casting tape for CDC and MDC group was done 1 week before sacrifice. After 5 weeks of mealworm supplementation, the soleus muscle weight of the MDC group was significantly higher compared to the CDC group. In addition, the level of muscle protein synthesis factors p-Akt/Akt, p-4EBP1/4EBP1, and p-S6K/S6K significantly increased in the MDC group compared to the CDC group. On contrary, the level of muscle protein degradation factors (MuRF1 and atrogin-1) was significantly lower in the MDC group than that of the CDC group. These results suggest that mealworm-derived protein supplementation may have a significant role in the prevention of skeletal muscle atrophy via stimulation of muscle protein synthesis factors and inhibition of muscle protein degradation factors, and therefore a promising intervention in sarcopenia.

The bark of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) is used as a food additive and herbal medicine for various inflammatory disorders and cancer in Eastern Asia. RVS has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages in vitro, but whether oral administration of RVS affects the inflammatory response of macrophage needs to be verified. RVS was given orally to mice for ten days. For isolation of macrophages, intraperitoneal injection of thioglycollate was performed. For determination of serum inflammatory response, intraperitoneal injection of LPS was applied. RVS stimulated monocyte differentiation in thioglycollate-induced peritonitis by increasing the population of cells expressing CD11b and class A scavenger receptors. These monocyte-derived macrophages showed an increased uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein. When peritoneal macrophages from the RVS group were stimulated with LPS, the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-&alpha, and interleukin (IL)-6 in the supernatant decreased, but the level of IL-12 increased. The surface expression of CD86 was reduced, but surface expression of class II major histocompatibility complex molecules was increased. RVS suppressed the serum levels of LPS-induced TNF-&alpha, and IL-6. Collectively, RVS promoted monocyte differentiation upon inflammatory insults and conferred selective anti-inflammatory activity without causing overall inhibitory effects on immune cells.

The bark of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) is used as a food additive and herbal medicine for various inflammatory disorders and cancer in Eastern Asia. RVS exerted anti-inflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, but whether this effect occurs in macrophages after oral administration has not been determined. We used a thioglycollate-induced peritonitis model to obtain macrophages from mice given RVS. We examined the systemic inflammatory response to intraperitoneal LPS. RVS-treated mice had an increased population of peritoneal exudate cells expressing CD11b and SRA. Increased uptake of Alexa Fluor 488-labeled acetylated lipoprotein was observed in monocyte-derived macrophages from RVS-treated mice. When these cells from the RVS group were stimulated with LPS, the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- and interleukin (IL)-6 in the supernatant decreased, but the level of IL-12 increased. The surface expression of CD86 was reduced, but surface expression of class II MHC molecules was increased. RVS suppressed the serum levels of LPS-induced TNF- and IL-6. RVS enhanced monocyte differentiation in thioglycollate-induced peritonitis by increasing scavenger receptor expression and activity. Macrophages isolated from mice given RVS responded differently to LPS. These findings demonstrate that RVS confers selective anti-inflammatory activity without causing the overall inhibitory effects on immune cells.

The bark of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) is used as a food additive and herbal medicine for various inflammatory disorders and cancer in Eastern Asia. RVS has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages in vitro, but whether oral administration of RVS affects the inflammatory response of macrophage needs to be verified. RVS was given orally to mice for ten days. For isolation of macrophages, intraperitoneal injection of thioglycollate was performed. For determination of serum inflammatory response, intraperitoneal injection of LPS was applied. RVS stimulated monocyte differentiation in thioglycollate-induced peritonitis by increasing the population of cells expressing CD11b and class A scavenger receptors. These monocyte-derived macrophages showed an increased uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein. When peritoneal macrophages from the RVS group were stimulated with LPS, the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 in the supernatant decreased, but the level of IL-12 increased. The surface expression of CD86 was reduced, but surface expression of class II major histocompatibility complex molecules was increased. RVS suppressed the serum levels of LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6. Collectively, RVS promoted monocyte differentiation upon inflammatory insults and conferred selective anti-inflammatory activity without causing overall inhibitory effects on immune cells.

Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata (Willd.) Sanjappa & Pradeep) is a perennial leguminous vine, and its root and flower have been used for herbal medicine in Asia for a long time. Most dietary flavonoids are reported to be concentrated in its root, not in its aerial parts including leaves. In this study, we investigated whether kudzu leaf and its major constituent, robinin (kaempferol-3-O-robinoside-7-O-rhanmoside) possessed anti-inflammatory activity. To test this hypothesis, we used peritoneal macrophages isolated from BALB/c mice and stimulated the cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or LPS plus interferon (IFN)-γ. Compared with kudzu root extract, its leaf extract was more potent in inhibiting the production of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6. Kudzu leaf extract decreased LPS-induced activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and TANK-binding kinase 1(TBK1) with no effects on nuclear factor-κB and activator protein 1 transcriptional activity. Also, kudzu leaf extract inhibited LPS/IFN-γ-induced signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) activation partly via an altered level of STAT1 expression. Robinin, being present in 0.46% of dry weight of leaf extract, but almost undetected in the root, decreased iNOS protein involving modulation of JNK and STAT1 activation. However, robinin showed no impact on other inflammatory markers. Our data provide evidence that kudzu leaf is an excellent food source of as yet unknown anti-inflammatory constituents.

A central concern for an optimizing compiler is the design of its intermediate representation (IR) for code. The IR should make it easy to perform transformations, and should also afford efficient and precise static analysis. In this paper we study an aspect of IR design that has received little attention: the role of undefined behavior. The IR for every optimizing compiler we have looked at, including GCC, LLVM, Intel's, and Microsoft's, supports one or more forms of undefined behavior (UB), not only to reflect the semantics of UB-heavy programming languages such as C and C++, but also to model inherently unsafe low-level operations such as memory stores and to avoid over-constraining IR semantics to the point that desirable transformations become illegal. The current semantics of LLVM's IR fails to justify some cases of loop unswitching, global value numbering, and other important "textbook" optimizations, causing long-standing bugs. We present solutions to the problems we have identified in LLVM's IR and show that most optimizations currently in LLVM remain sound, and that some desirable new transformations become permissible. Our solutions do not degrade compile time or performance of generated code.

Effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) produced by Lactobacillus sakei B2-16 on diet and acute swimming exercise was investigated in rats with high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. The body weight gain in the GABA+Exercise group was significantly (p 0.05) influenced reduction in body weight gain, compared to the HFD group. The weights of abdominal and epididymal fat tissues and the liver in the GABA+Exercise group were significantly (p

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementation with Opuntia humifusa on the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta (PPAR-δ), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1α) in the skeletal muscle of rats fed a high-fat diet. Sixteen Sprague-Dawley male rats at 6 weeks of age were randomly divided into 2 groups: a control diet group (CG, n=8) and an experimental diet group (EG, n=8). The rats were fed a high-fat diet (CG) or a high-fat diet supplemented with 5% O. humifusa (EG) for 8 weeks. The results showed that the abdominal fat pad and epididymal fat pad weights were significantly lower in the EG than in the CG (p＜0.01). In the blood, serum glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol in the EG group were lower than in the CG (p＜0.01). The expression of PPAR-γ and PGC-1α protein in the skeletal muscle of the EG was increased compared with that of the CG (p＜0.05). These results indicate that 8 weeks of O. humifusa supplementation lowers serum glucose and triglyceride levels and suppresses weight gain by reducing fat weight through an increase in the expression of PPAR-γ and PGC-1α in the muscle tissue of rats.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Opuntia humifusa supplementation on lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase (SOD) protein expression at resting state in various organs of rats fed a high-fat diet. Sixteen Sprague-Dawley male rats, 6 weeks of age, were randomly divided into two groups: a control diet group (CG, n=8) and an experimental diet group (EG, n=8). They were given a high-fat diet (CG) or a diet supplemented with 5% of O. humifusa (EG) or 8 weeks. The results showed that the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels of the kidney and the liver were significantly lower in the EG group than in the CG group (p