Preventive effects of chitosan coacervate whey protein on body composition and immunometabolic aspect in obese mice

Abstract

Functional foods containing bioactive compounds of whey may play an important role in prevention and treatment of obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the prospects of the biotechnological process of coacervation of whey proteins (CWP) in chitosan and test its antiobesogenic potential.

Methods: CWP (100 mg · kg · day) was administered in mice with diet-induced obesity for 8 weeks. The animals were divided into four groups: control normocaloric diet gavage with water (C) or coacervate (C-CWP), and high fat diet gavage with water (HF) or coacervate (HF-CWP).

Results: HF-CWP reduced weight gain and serum lipid fractions and displayed reduced adiposity and insulin. Adiponectin was significantly higher in HF-CWP group when compared to the HF. The level of LPS in HF-W group was significantly higher when compared to HF-CWP. The IL-10 showed an inverse correlation between the levels of insulin and glucose in the mesenteric adipose tissue in the HF-CWP group. CWP promoted an increase in both phosphorylation AMPK and the amount of ATGL in the mesenteric adipose tissue in HF-CWP group.

Conclusion: CWP was able to modulate effects, possibly due to its high biological value of proteins. We observed a protective effect against obesity and improved the inflammatory milieu of white adipose tissue.

Figure 1

(a) Electrophoretic profile coacervate using 0.75 mg/ml of chitosan. ST: standard of different molecular weights, α-La: alpha-lactalbumin (14 kDa), β-Lg: beta-lactoglobulin monomer (18 kDa) and dimer (34 kDa), BSA: bovine albumin (66 kDa), and Lacfr: lactoferrin (86 kDa). (b) Aspect of CWP proteins in Chitosan, freeze-dried.

Figure 2

Evolution of the average gain in body mass (g) of mice for eight weeks of treatment with high fat diet (HF) or control normocaloric (C) associated with gavage of coacervate (CWP) or water (W). Data submitted with an average ± EPM. (b) C-W versus HF-W and (d) HF-CWP versus HF-W. (P < 0.05).

Figure 3

OGTT and AUC (area under the curve) after eight weeks of treatment with high fat diet (HF) or normocaloric control (C) associated with gavage of coacervate (CWP) or water (W). Glycemia in time zero (basal-B), 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after gavage of 0.2 g/100 g body weight of glucose. Data submitted with an average ± EPM. (b) C-W versus HF-W. (P < 0.05).

Figure 4

Protein expression of HSL (a); ATGL (b); perilipin A (c); ABHD-5 (d); and pAMPK (e) in the mesenteric adipose tissue. The data are expressed in arbitrary units (A.U). Data submitted with an average ± EPM. (A) C-W versus C-CWP; (B) C-W versus HF-W; (C) C-CWP versus HF-CWP; and (D) HF-CWP versus HF-W. (P < 0.05).

Figure 5

Correlation between different experimental groups: (a) TAG and AUC in different experimental groups. (b) Insulin and STA (sum of adipose tissues MES, RET, and EPI). (c) Insulin and IL-10 of serum and mesenteric adipose tissue, respectively, and (d) glucose and IL-10 of serum and mesenteric adipose tissue, respectively.