Vanessa Lewandowski

Impact of Cafeteria Diet on the Composition of Fatty Acids in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Fillets

The cafeteria diet is widely used as a model for inducing obesity in animals, and the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as a promising model for this purpose. In this context, this study evaluated the effect of a cafeteria diet on the composition of fatty acids in zebrafish fillets. Zebrafish grown in tanks for a period of 60 days were treated with standard (ST) and cafeteria (CAF) diets. The CAF diet presented higher total lipid and energy values than ST diet, due to the addition of peanut, chocolate and biscuit in its preparation. Moreover, CAF diet showed the highest concentrations of palmitic (19.44 ± 0.55 mg g), oleic (102.58 ± 2.85 mg g) and linoleic (44.47 ± 1.32 mg g) acids. A significant increase in oleic and linoleic acid concentrations (39.77 ± 2.69 and 14.31 ± 0.86 mg g, respectively) and in the omega-6/omega-3 ratio (11.52 ± 0.81) was observed in the zebrafish fillets between 0 and 60 days for CAF diet, indicating incorporation of these fatty acids.

Effect of peanut addition to the cafeteria diet on adiposity and inflammation in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

ABSTRACT Zebrafish (Danio rerio) emerged as a model of diet-induced obesity because of its genetic homology to humans. Peanut is a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acid and its consumption is associated with decreased inflammatory markers and obesity control. This study evaluated the effects of peanut addition to the cafeteria diet (CAF) by analysis of fatty acids into the head, adiposity and expression of TNF, IL6 and FASN genes using zebrafish as experimental model. The zebrafish were maintained in tanks for 60 days and treated with standard (ST) and CAF diets, respectively. The CAF diet increased the oleic acid content in zebrafish heads, however the body weight, body mass index, adipose tissue and expression of inflammatory and lipid metabolism genes did not differ between the groups. This study suggests that the addition of peanut in the CAF diet can control weight gain, the inflammatory markers and lipid metabolism in zebrafish model. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT