Anibal Sanchez Moura

Factors associated with dietary patterns in the urban Brazilian population

This study evaluated factors associated with dietary patterns in the Brazilian population based on the Living Standards Survey conducted in the Northeast and Southeast regions of the country. Multi-stage probability sampling was employed to select the households, and for the present analysis 5,121 adults aged 20 to 50 years were included. Pregnant women and individuals reporting chronic health conditions were excluded. Through principal component analysis, two major family dietary patterns were identified: a mixed pattern, in which all groups and foods have approximately the same factor loading, and a second pattern based main1y on rice and beans, which was called a traditional diet. Weight and height were measured in the households, and food intake was based on a 21-item semi-quantitative family questionnaire. The Northeast (as compared to the Southeast) was negatively associated with the mixed pattern. Body mass index was positively associated with the mixed pattern, whereas leisure physical activity and Black skin color were negatively associated with the mixed pattern. Schooling and income levels explained most of the dietary variance, but after adjusting for education and income, region of residence remained significantly associated and was the third most important explanatory variable.

Weight Loss Associated With a Daily Intake of Three Apples or Three Pears Among Overweight Women

OBJECTIVE We investigated the effect of fruit intake on body weight change. METHODS Hypercholesterolemic, overweight (body mass index > 25 kg/m2), and non-smoking women, 30 to 50 y of age, were randomized to receive, free of charge, one of three dietary supplements: apples, pears, or oat cookies. Women were instructed to eat one supplement three times a day in a total of six meals a day. Participants (411 women) were recruited at a primary care center of the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Fifty-one women had fasting blood cholesterol levels greater than 6.2 mM/L (240 mg/dL) and 49 were randomized. Subjects were instructed by a dietitian to eat a diet (55% of energy from carbohydrate, 15% from protein, and 30% from fat) to encourage weight reduction at the rate of 1 kg/mo. RESULTS After 12 wk of follow-up, the fruit group lost 1.22 kg (95% confidence interval = 0.44-1.85), whereas the oat group had a non-significant weight loss of 0.88 kg (0.37-2.13). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P = 0.004). To explore further the body weight loss associated with fruit intake, we measured the ratio of glucose to insulin. A significantly greater decrease of blood glucose was observed among those who had eaten fruits compared with those who had eaten oat cookies, but the glucose:insulin ratio was not statistically different from baseline to follow-up. Adherence to the diet was high, as indicated by changes in serum triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, and reported fruit intake. Fruit intake in the oat group throughout treatment was minimal. CONCLUSIONS Intake of fruits may contribute to weight loss.

Low prevalence of hypothyroidism among black and Mulatto people in a population‐based study of Brazilian women

Objective  African‐Americans have been shown to have low prevalence of hypothyroidism. Brazil has a high ethnic admixture allowing further exploration into whether environmental factors can explain the ethnic differences.

Norbixin ingestion did not induce any detectable DNA breakage in liver and kidney but caused a considerable impairment in plasma glucose levels of rats and mice

From the seeds of Bixa orellana are extracted the carotenoids bixin and norbixin that have been widely used for coloring food. In this study, the toxicity of norbixin, purified or not (annatto extract containing 50% norbixin), was investigated in mice and rats after 21 days of ingestion through drinking water. Mice were exposed to doses of 56 and 351 mg/kg (annatto extract) and 0.8, 7.6, 66 and 274 mg/kg (norbixin). Rats were exposed to doses of 0.8, 7.5 and 68 mg/kg (annatto extract) and 0.8, 8.5 and 74 mg/kg (norbixin). In rats, no toxicity was detected by plasma chemistry. In mice, norbixin induced an increase in plasma alanine aminotransferase activity (ALT) while both norbixin and annatto extract induced a decrease in plasma total protein and globulins (P < 0.05). However, no signs of toxicity were detected in liver by histopathological analysis. No enhancement in DNA breakage was detected in liver or kidney from mice treated with annatto pigments, as evaluated by the comet assay. Nevertheless, there was a remarkable effect of norbixin on the glycemia of both rodent species. In rats, norbixin induced hyperglycemia that ranged from 26.9% (8.5 mg/kg norbixin, to 52.6% (74 mg/kg norbixin, P < 0.01) above control levels. In mice, norbixin induced hypoglycemia that ranged from 14.4% (0.8 mg/kg norbixin, P < 0.05) to 21.5% (66 mg/kg norbixin, P < 0.001) below control levels. Rats and mice treated with annatto pigments showed hyperinsulinemia and hypoinsulinemia, respectively indicating that pancreatic beta-cells were functional. More studies should be performed to fully understand of how species-related differences influences the biological fate of norbixin.

Long-term effects of overfeeding during lactation on insulin secretion — the role of GLUT-2

Overnutrition during critical developmental periods is believed to be a risk factor for the emergence of metabolic disorders in adulthood. The present study investigated the effects of pups overfeeding during lactation on offsprings insulin secretion. To study the consequences of overnutrition early in life in rats, litter size reduction has been shown to be an appropriate experimental model. To induce early postnatal overnutrition, litter size was reduced to three pups per litter at the third day following birth [overfed group (OG)]. In the control group (CG), the litter size was adjusted to 10 pups per litter. Metabolic parameters and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion were assessed. OG pups ingested more milk at 10 and 21 days and had an augmented food intake at 1 year compared to the CG. Consistently, body weight, body fat, and fasting plasma levels of insulin were higher in 1-year-old OG rats. In addition, OG rats exhibited enhanced insulin secretion, accompanied by elevated content of GLUT-2 in pancreatic islets compared to CG. These findings indicate that early postnatal overnutrition during a critical developmental period in life may program permanent alterations in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

Exercise training enhances elastin, fibrillin and nitric oxide in the aorta wall of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

This work aimed to analyze the effect of low-intensity exercise training on ultrastructural and molecular aortic remodeling. Male Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were allocated into four groups: sedentary WKY (SED-WKY), exercised WKY (EX-WKY, 1 h/day, 5 days/week treadmill exercise training), sedentary SHR (SED-SHR), and exercised SHR (EX-SHR). EX-SHR showed blood pressure reduction of 26% in comparison to SED-SHR after 1 month of exercise (P<0.05). At the 20th week, BP level was not different between EX-SHRs and WKYs. Circumferential wall tension (CWT) was higher by 77% in SED-SHRs than in SED-WKYs (P<0.001). Exercise training reduced CWT by 30% in EX- vs. SED-SHR (P<0.001). In SED-SHRs, endothelial cells showed large and numerous cytoplasmatic vacuoles, fragmented inner elastic lamina and scarce elastin and fibrillin, while exercise training ameliorated it in EX-SHR group. The highest eNOS immunodensity was observed in EX-SHR, which was 50% higher than EX-WKY (P<0.01) and 120% higher than SED-SHR (P<0.0001). In conclusion, present findings indicate beneficial effects of exercise training in hypertensive rats since it increased elastin, fibrillin and eNOS content in the aortic wall.

Up-regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and glucose transporter 4 in muscle of rats subjected to maternal undernutrition.

Early postnatal nutrition has been associated with the long-term effects on glucose homeostasis in adulthood. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which undernutrition during early life leads to changes in insulin sensitivity, we investigated the insulin signaling in skeletal muscle of rats during development. Offspring of dams fed with either protein-free or normal diets during the first 10 days of lactation were studied from lactation period until adulthood. Early maternal undernutrition impaired secretion of insulin but maintained normal blood glucose levels until adulthood. Insulin receptor (IR) activation after insulin stimulation was decreased during the period of protein restriction. In addition, glucose uptake, insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) phosphorylation and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT-4) translocation in muscle were reduced in response to insulin during suckling. In contrast, non- or insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and GLUT-4 translocation were found significantly increased in muscle of adult offspring. Finally, basal association of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) with IRS-1 was increased and was highly stimulated by insulin in muscle from adult rats. Our findings suggest that early postnatal undernutrition increases insulin sensitivity in adulthood, which appears to be directly related to changes in critical steps required for glucose metabolism.

Trans fatty acids in maternal milk lead to cardiac insulin resistance in adult offspring

OBJECTIVE Trans fatty acids (TFAs) are derived from vegetable oil hydrogenation and can be found in most manufactured food products. Our main objective was to evaluate the effects of TFA consumption by lactating dams on cardiac glucose metabolism of adult offspring by analyzing glucose transporter-4 in the left ventricle. To investigate the energy homeostasis, insulin sensitivity and hepatic glycogen content were also measured. METHODS Lactating Wistar rats were divided into a control group or a TFA group. The control group received a diet containing soybean oil, and the TFA group received a diet containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (total trans concentration of about 10.58 mg/g, 11.75%, of total fat) throughout the lactation period. At weaning, pups from both groups received a standard chow until 60 d of age, at which time the quantity of glucose transporter-4 in the left ventricle and hepatic glycogen were measured. Moreover, insulin sensitivity was analyzed by assessing the insulin/glucose ratio and the homeostatic model assessment index. RESULTS TFA consumption by the pups during lactation led to a significant decrease in the cardiac content of glucose transporter-4 (P < 0.05) and in the hepatic content of glycogen (P < 0.05). Moreover, we observed impaired insulin sensitivity in the TFA group (insulin/glucose ratio and homeostatic model assessment index, P < 0.05) in adulthood. CONCLUSION Our data suggest that the consumption of hydrogenated fat, rich in TFAs, by the mothers during the lactation period caused cardiac insulin resistance in the adult progeny, thus reinforcing the hypothesis that early adaptations may cause deleterious consequences later in life.

Maternal protein restriction during early lactation induces GLUT4 translocation and mTOR/Akt activation in adipocytes of adult rats

Epidemiological and experimental studies have demonstrated that early postnatal nutrition has been associated with long-term effects on glucose homeostasis in adulthood. Recently, our group demonstrated that undernutrition during early lactation affects the expression and activation of key proteins of the insulin signaling cascade in rat skeletal muscle during postnatal development. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which undernutrition during early life leads to changes in insulin sensitivity in peripheral tissues, we investigated the insulin signaling in adipose tissue. Adipocytes were isolated from epididymal fat pads of adult male rats that were the offspring of dams fed either a normal or a protein-free diet during the first 10 days of lactation. The cells were incubated with 100 nM insulin before the assays for immunoblotting analysis, 2-deoxyglucose uptake, immunocytochemistry for GLUT4, and/or actin filaments. Following insulin stimulation, adipocytes isolated from undernourished rats presented reduced tyrosine phosphorylation of IR and IRS-1 and increased basal phosphorylation of IRS-2, Akt, and mTOR compared with controls. Basal glucose uptake was increased in adipocytes from the undernourished group, and the treatment with LY294002 induced only a partial inhibition both in basal and in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, suggesting an involvement of phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity. These alterations were accompanied by higher GLUT4 content in the plasma membrane and alterations in the actin cytoskeleton dynamics. These data suggest that early postnatal undernutrition impairs insulin sensitivity in adulthood by promoting changes in critical steps of insulin signaling in adipose tissue, which may contribute to permanent changes in glucose homeostasis.

Early postnatal growth in preterm infants and cord blood leptin

Although circulating leptin and insulin concentration is linked to intrauterine growth, fetal development and birth weight in full-term infants, there has been no enquiry into the influence of cord blood insulin and leptin for catch-up growth in preterm infants. The study evaluated the association of cord blood leptin with growth and weight gain of 96 premature babies during 6 months (corrected age). The temporal changes of anthropometric indexes over this period were calculated by repeated random regression (PROC MIXED) using SAS. Cord blood leptin was negatively associated with the rate of change in BMI (p=0.01) and length (p<0.001), from birth until 64 postnatal weeks. Insulin was positively associated with the change rate in BMI (p=0.03); however, this disappeared when adjusted for birth weight. For the first time, the association between lower leptin levels with greater catch up growth is shown for both BMI and length among preterm children. In conclusion, leptin levels at birth, but not insulin levels, predict growth rates.